


Teen Wolf: A Rom-Com

by HimegimiWrites



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abuse of Commas and Italics, Alive Hale Family, Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Attempt at Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Derek Hale is a Softie, Derek hale is a Ball of Angst, I Tried, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Sarcasm, Sheriff Stilinski Knows About Werewolves, The Hale Fire, True Mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-07-12 07:43:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15990743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HimegimiWrites/pseuds/HimegimiWrites
Summary: After six years living away from his family, Derek comes back to Beacon Hills only for his life to take an unexpected turn that very night. He also meets Stiles, knowing instantly both he and his wolf want him.On the other hand, Stiles experiences sexual identity crisis after meeting this broody unfairly attractive wolf.(I'm so bad at summaries. Forgive me.)





	1. Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first work for this fandom. It is a light hearted take on the show. Mainly focusing on romantic aspects barely touching the heavy stuff. Only slightly following canon plot. I think I need to mention a few things before I start.  
> •The hales are alive.  
> •The fire still happened. (I'll be adding details about it in future chapters.)  
> •The government knows about the supernatural but keeps it secret. aka Stiles' dad already knows.  
> •Since none of the Hales died, the Alpha is not Peter in this fic.  
> •This fic is unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own. I sometimes seemed to skip over a sentence while writing. Although I have added them while editing if you notice ANY gap or unfinished sentences please let me know!

Stiles was at the sink, washing up the last of the dishes when the call arrived.

It was late evening, father and son both having finished dinner moments ago, his dad still had been sitting at the dining table. He perked up his ears, as the Sheriff took the call, listening, while he pretended to dry off the dish in hand. He could discern little of the conversation, still, whatever bits he overheard, left his blood boiling in excitement. Stiles was almost vibrating out of skin by the time the Sheriff finished his call. He had already put the dishes aside and was now glancing around the room, trying to put a nonchalant air on, as if he  _ totally _ did not just eavesdrop on his dad's work call.

Noah turned to face his son only to heave an exasperated sigh, knowing his son have been listening and what he'll be up to once he was gone. Heaving another sigh, he started, “I need to be leaving now, kiddo. Most likely won't be back home tonight. I want you to lock the house once I leave, and  _ keep _ your ass inside,  _ are we clear? _ ”, he kept his stern gaze trained towards his son, until he got a nod back. He ruffled his hair, “Get to bed in time. It's a school night.”, then proceeded to get out of the house on to his cruiser,  _ hoping _ his son would listen to the warning.

Stiles waited until he heard the sheriff's cruiser steering out of the driveway, then all but sprinted upstairs, stumbling a couple of times, to his bedroom. He took his phone off the charging station to call his best friend, who have also been his sole friend for years, Scott, only for it to go through the voicemail.

A frustrated grunt left him, “Dammit Scotty…”, he then flopped onto the bed. A few seconds went by staring at the ceiling, before Stiles sprang back up to standing, “Guess it calls for drastic measures..”, a mischievous grin appeared on his face. Moments later, Stiles was on his blue jeep, driving away from his home, towards his friend's house.

Reaching the McCall resident, Stiles parked his car nearby. He walked up to the door then made a detour, not wanting to fall in front of Mrs. McCall, having to give an explanation wasn't what he wanted that moment. He stopped right under where he knew Scott's room was. managed to clamber up the gutter only to be startled by his friend, with a  _ baseball bat  _ on his hand, looking equally terrified.

“What the hell were trying to do, man?”, Stiles exclaimed, still panting from the scare. “I thought you were a predator!”, was the answer he got, from an breathless Scott. “Why do you even have a  _ baseball _ bat?! You don't even play.” Stiles muttered to his friend, who walked back into the room without response, casting the bat aside. Stiles followed suit.

He flopped on to a chair next to the bed, then started talking, “And why is your phone off, dude? I called you so many times.” Scott looked sheepish as he apologised,  “Sorry, the phone battery died.” “Dude, chargers are a thing. People use it. To keep their phones charged and available.”, Stiles rolled his eyes before rattling off, “ Whatever, I got some really cool news. I heard my dad talking on his phone. And guess what…”, Stiles eyes glinted with excitement, “There was an animal attack. They found the body in the preserve. My dad's already headed there with his team.”

Scott made a gasping sound, “A dead body?!” “No, a body of water. Yes, dumbass. A  _ dead _ body. Butt…”, he wiggled his eyebrows, “The best part is... They only found half of the body.”, he finished with dramatical arm flailing. Scott’s eyebrows almost reached the hairline, speechless, his mouth hung open.

Stiles was pleased from being able to get such reaction off his friend. Wiggling in his seat, Stiles questioned, “Whaddya say, Scotty boy, want to go find the other half of the body?” Scott shook his head, “We have school tomorrow, remember? I want a good night's sleep. I'll pass, dude.” Stiles gave a frustrated groan, proceeded on persuading, “C'mon, man. I know you want to. It'll be a little bit of fun adventure in our boring as hell life.” he finished with a grin.

That's how, ten minutes later, both boys were on the road, heading towards the preserve. Scott’s face looked like he was already regretting,  _ every bit of it _ . There was a slight shower of rain, soaking up the roads, making them glisten, which reduced to a drizzle as they reached the preserve. Stiles parked somewhere he  _ hoped _ his dad or one of his deputies would not discover, then got out but not before grabbing the torch from the glove compartment.

They walked through the trees, stumbling on tree roots or broken branches every now and then. It was dark, the moon hidden under clouds. The chilly weather leaving the boys shivering.

After a while of searching Scott decided to speak up, “I think, we should just get back, Stiles. We're pretty deep but there's still no sign of the body. Hopefully the police would find it. Maybe they already did.” “Let's look for a bit longer. I promise we'll go back if we don't find anything soon.” “What if the animal is still lurking around here somewhere? We're gonna die!” Stiles proceeded to move forward without glancing back. He haven't thought of it. What if the animal  _ was _ still around? He quickly pushed the thought away. Contemplating now would not do any good.

“Stiles, I want to go back. I need to sleep so that I'm ready for the try-out tomorrow. I'm gonna be first line this time.”, pausing on his track, Scott brought out his inhaler. Stiles snorted, “You don't need sleep, Scott. You're gonna sit on the bench along with me. Like we usually do. We'll get plenty of rest.” Scott frowned at that, but when he was about to say something in protest, he noticed Stiles face contour into alarm. “Dude, wh-” “Shh, shh, can you see that?” Stiles whispered as he pointed at a direction behind Scott, “Lights. I think, it's my dad.” Scott turned to look only to exclaim, “They're coming this way. We need to hide. Stiles, Run!”

In haste, Stiles turned off the torch then started running opposite of where the police department were. Stiles followed right behind Scott, but even with poor health, the crooked jaw boy was faster. Stiles slowly started to lag behind, he tried gaining speed so that they won't separate.

All of a sudden, Scott tripped over something. Stiles could only see him fall as he was startled to a halt from the incident. He noticed something small fly off, dropping somewhere on the ground cushioned with leaves. Scott's yelp brought him out of his shock. The place Scott tripped onto seemed to be a small clearing. Stiles turned on the torch once more, hoping his dad's team have gone the other way, then jogged towards his friend in order to help. As he got near he caught something from the corner of his eyes, and motioned the light towards it. He gave a very manly screech, losing balance, he fell backwards on the ground. There it was, the other half of the body, lying with eyes wide open. Stiles now realised, he didn't think it through, that he was on a hunt to find an _actual_ _dead_ _body_.

_ It's too late to be regretting it now, _ Stiles thought to himself. It's not like Stiles hasn't seen dead before. But this was  _ inhumane,  _ well it technically  _ was _ an  _ animal _ attack. He now felt guilty for even finding the whole thing fun and exciting. Before the rush of adrenaline could settle in, both of them were startled again when a horde of deers came running through the way between them.

“What the hell…” both boys exchanged looks.

They didn't get any time to relax, right after they heard a low growl nearby, freezing them both. That's it, Stiles was totally regretting it now. He should have listened to his dad, should have listened to Scott. They should not have come here to find the dead body. They looked around to find where the animal was but it felt like it was constantly on the move, circling around them.

Then there it was, running through clearing straight at them. It was nothing like Stiles had ever seen before, glowing red eyes like burning coal, long limbs covered in fur. As it got near, it decided to jump the rest of the distance straight on to Scott. It snarled at the boy before sinking its teeth down on his shoulder. Scott screamed in pain.

“Oh my  _ god _ .”, Stiles gasped, terrified. What he did next was a stupid thing to do, which wasn't a first that night, but in defense he'd say it was the best course of action. As if his body moved on autopilot, he picked up a heavy rock from nearby, which he had no clue how the hell he managed to lift, then hit the motherfucker in head with it, in hope of gaining one against the beast. It sort of came as a surprise when it actually worked, probably saving Scott from losing an arm. The furry creature roared, scrambling away from the two teens. It gave just enough time for Stiles to drop the rock to side before helping Scott up by his uninjured arm.

However, fate decided it was not done playing with their lives. Stiles’ blood ran cold when heard the creature produce a low guttural noise.

Well,  _ shit! _

He promptly pushed Scott away from him, as the creature kept growling at Stiles, its eyes burning.  _ This is what you get from playing with fire, Stilinski! _ He started backing away from it, noting Scott doing the same. But, how could he do even do  _ anything _ without being clumsy. Of course, he had to trip on his own feet then fall flat on his ass. Seeing it as an opportunity, not like it needed any, the beast launched itself at him.  _ Fuck! _

Stiles didn't realise he had his eyes screwed shut, until he heard a roar along with a lot of shuffling but didn't feel the impact and pain he was anticipating, causing him to open them. He could see features of a man in the dark, tackling the furry thing to the ground a few feet away. He looked around in panic, calming a little when his eyes fell upon his friend, right beside him. Scott, too, glanced towards him, fear written all over his face.

“Stiles, come on! We need to get away while we can!”, he could hear Scott yell at him, his voice urgent. His friend only registered him nodding before he began to dash away from this mess. Stiles decided to spare one final glance toward the stranger, who was still fighting with the beast what seemed like with _bare_ hands. That was when Stiles realised his body would not move. It was as though, he was frozen by some spell, probably from shock, his mind supplied, while he observed in fascination as the fight took place in front of him. He couldn't tell in exact detail on what was happening in the dark. In the mass of limbs, he took notice of two pairs of orbs, glowing. One red, the other blue. Eyes, he recognized, which was… weird. Humans don't usually _have_ glowing eyes unless, his saviour wasn't human. In that case, he should… in fact, he didn't have any idea what he _should_ do. His frozen state from the shock had disappeared, and he knew it was dangerous, that he should make a run for it while he could but hey, when did he ever do what he should do. Not tonight! So, he just sat there like a fool as those _whatever_ _beings_ rolled around, battling for dominance. He couldn't even tell who was winning, as he sat there for who knows how long, until the fight seemed to be coming to its grand finale. As if on cue, the moon peeked from behind the clouds, drenching the place with soft light.

Stiles watched as the person settled on top, the creature mewling beneath. A sigh of relief was about to leave Stiles that ended halfway,  resulting in him sounding like a dying animal instead. He could make out hint of fangs, claws on his raised hand and then, the man slashed the throat of the little furry friend, silencing it. Probably for good. Stiles  _ hoped _ it was for good.

The man looked up at him and  _ holy motherfucking- _ he looked like a Greek god, perhaps he was. Stiles’ mouth hung open, seeing the man's icy blue eyes shift colour, bleeding to red. Same ones like the creature he killed moments ago. The man threw his head back, looking up to the moon and then, he howled.

 

A howl of victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's your thought on the chapter? Comment below!


	2. The Next Alpha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with a new update! I could have posted yesterday if I wasn't procastanating so much. :<  
> I wanted mention few more things I _forgot_ to mention previously.  
>  •since none of the Hales died, the Alpha is not Peter in this fic.  
> •This fic is unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own. I sometimes seemed to skip over a sentence while writing. Although I have added them while editing if you notice ANY gap or unfinished sentences please let me know!  
> (I'm going to edit the previous note and add these there too for people who'll be reading it for the first time)  
> Now, I thought this chapter was already too information heavy. So I decided I'll introduce the ALIVE Hale family here so you know who is who.  
> 1\. Talia Hale (42) - Sebastian Frederick Hale(45)  
> Laura Hale (23), Derek Hale (22), Cora Hale (16), Conan (14), David (14) (yes, twins!)
> 
> 2\. Benjamin Hale (38) - Elena Hale (36)  
> Rosalie (15) Olivia (6)
> 
> 3\. Peter Hale (35)
> 
> 4\. Nora Hale (34) - Felix (34)  
> Samuel (13)
> 
> So, Talia and her siblings are mentioned before their spouses and their children underneath. I also thought I'd add their ages so it'll help for you guys to imagine. Even tho tje first name I thought was Nora, I named Talia's sister as Natalie then I remembered Lydia's mother has the same name(which sorta pissed me off). So, I went back to Nora although it is too similar to Cora but whatever... I'll stop rambling now. See you in the comments!

The howl ripped through the night, breaching its stillness.

After finished howling, the man lowered his gaze back towards Stiles, who was still gaping at the most gorgeous human he's seen in his entire life. He watched in a trance, as the man got off the now dead creature, with such spontaneous grace, it further intensified Stiles’ suspicion about the man being a Greek god.

Stiles turned his gaze upwards, meeting the man's fiery red ones. The man stalked towards him, like a predator hunting its prey. The thought made him shudder. _Oh boy!_ Stiles gulped audibly, then got up on his feet, his logical part telling him to flee from this mysterious stranger. Otherwise, he might become the next dead body his dad finds which was _not_ okay. But, Stiles Stilinski was not working with logics tonight! Instead, he took a step forward towards the man. It was as though he didn't _want_ to leave, like there was a something tugging him towards the man, telling him to close the distance between them. His instincts screaming to basically throw himself at this stranger dude, maybe even with a red ribbon tied around his body. Wait, what?

Before he could further contemplate about his sudden revelation, his thoughts were interrupted. Two figures came dashing through the trees towards them. Hah, it was getting old now.

“Derek!”, Stiles heard a female voice call out. And it was like a spell broke. The two figures stopped between them, Stiles recognized them. The well-known Talia Hale and her eldest daughter, Laura. “Oh, dear.”, Stiles heard Talia whisper, her tone sympathetic. Both women rushed towards the man, _Derek_ , now he had a name to work with, not even sparing a single glance at him like he wasn't present. “You! Leave. _Now_!”, right then Laura turned her head at Stiles and hissed.

Okay, wow. Rude. However, Stiles compiled the order anyway, scrambling away from the trio. When he reached the nearest tree, he spared one last glance back, then he ran.

 

Derek was struggling in his mother and sister hold, trying to free himself and get the retreating human back. However, even with his newly gained power, he was no match against an Alpha together with an Alpha-to-be. His mother kept whispering things in his ear, until he began to calm down. Dropping his face on Talia's shoulder, Derek whined low on his throat. Laura’s arms came up, wrapping around both of them.

Talia spoke first, “Let's get back to home. We need to deal with the police. This can discuss about this after.”, rubbing her palm over Derek's face, who was back to normal now. He felt guilty, also a little embarrassed, for losing control of his wolf like that.

Seeming to know about his turmoil his mother spoke again, “Hey, it's alright. It wasn't your fault. I know. Gaining that much power, all of a sudden, it's tough to remain in control of your wolf.”, she patted him before pulling into a hug.

 

**~•~**

 

“Hey, D-dad.”, Stiles greeted, scratching the back of his neck, shrinking under his father's glare. On his way out of the preserve, he ran straight on to the Sheriff. Like the cherry on top of the worst things happened tonight. “Well, son”, getting closer Noah grabbed him by the neck, “I thought I told you _not_ to leave the house tonight.” Uhm-”, Stiles started to speak, but was cut off as his dad basically began dragging him outside of the preserve. Once out of the preserve, the Sheriff paused on the road, “Where did leave your car, kid?” As Stiles flailed his arms at a direction, he was being dragged by the neck once more. After shoving him inside the Jeep, the Sheriff sighed palming his face, “Go straight back home. I'll deal with you later.” “Yes. I'm leaving, I'm leaving.” Stiles put his hands up in surrender. After what happened tonight, he himself wasn't interested in staying out any longer. Although he couldn't mention any of that to his dad, that might do more bad than good. Such as prolonged grounding which by the looks of it he was getting, for sure. It took a couple of tries to start up his jeep, then a few more to start heading towards his home, all the while the Sheriff standing nearby, glaring at him with his arms folded onto his chest.

 

**~•~**

 

Back at the Hale mansion, it was past midnight by the they were all done dealing with the rogue Alpha incident. Thomas Rogers, a young Alpha of a pack to the south. Hunters killed his entire family, burning them all alive, trapped inside their on house. The Alpha survived since he wasn't home, when the fire started. The grief turned him insane. Resulting him to go around slaughtering people. The police and FBI were on a hunt for him when he arrived at Beacon Hills.

Derek could empathise. It evoked terrible memories from six years ago. The fire the hunters caused, charred his home right before his eyes. His family managed to survive all thanks to his uncle Felix. Derek would always be thankful that the man had gotten late to get back home. The druid helped breaking the Mountain Ash barrier, getting everyone out with common injuries that took barely any time to heal. Derek still blamed himself although, everyone reassured him countless times that it wasn't his fault. Well, everyone except his uncle Peter, who taunts him whenever they meet. Derek thought Peter's attitude is justified, he expected everyone else to treat him the same. After all, he _did_ fall for the trap that was Kate _Argent_. Behaved like a puppy he was, giving away all of the details she needed to cause his family harm. He would forever blame himself.

“How did you even manage to kill him? You can never win against Laura in our training sessions.” Cora's voice brought Derek out of his stupor.

Derek rolled his eyes, “I'm surprised myself. I didn't expect to win against him. I guess, he was already weakened.” His father nodded at that. The entire pack was present in the living room. After the Sheriff had left the house collecting the details, his mother had called for a pack meeting. Once they felt the presence of another werewolf in their pack territory they have all been out in the woods, looking for it. Including Derek, who moved back to Beacon Hills, mere two hours prior. That's why, even at this hour at night, all of them were awake except the younglings.

Funny how things turn out. After much persuading from his parents, he agreed to move back here. Now this happens, mere hours after his arrival.

Talia cleared her throat, initiating everyone minus Derek, who sat with his head hung low, present to glance at the Alpha. “Now, it is trivial as to how it happened. All it matters that Derek is an Alpha. We have more important matters in hand to discuss.”, she started, “I’m not going to beat around the bush and get straight to the point.”, She took a pause, glancing at her pack before starting again, “Since, Derek has become an Alpha, he'll need a pack to lead. I wish it hadn't come to this but I have decided, instead of Laura,  Derek will become the next Alpha.”

Derek whipped his head so fast he almost got whiplash. He stared at his mother in disbelief. “No. Mom, you can't- I c-can't do this. I can't take over the pack. It's Laura's!” Laura tried to assure,“Der, it's oka-” “No, it's not!”, snapped Derek.

“Derek.”, his mother spoke in a calm tone, “You might think you don't need your own pack but trust me you _will_ need to build one at some point. And I want you to know, when it comes to that, you can count on us. But first,” she turned her head towards the rest of the pack, “We’ll need the pack's affirmation. Do any of you object on Derek being your future Alpha?”

“I trust and will go with  whatever my Alpha decides.”, Nora spoke first. “Me too.”, Elena voiced. Cora only shook her  head. “Will he be able to manage, functioning as an Alpha?”, Peter chided, “I hope you do remember, dear sister, what his little mistake caused six years ago”, the reminder made Derek go back to hanging his head down.

Talia focused her glance at her youngest brother, “I'll make sure that he becomes an Alpha worthy of his status.” “If I have time, I don't mind helping either.”, Laura chimed in.

Uncle Benjamin spoke for the first time, “I’m sure Derek will become a decent Alpha. I don't have any objections to accept him as my Alpha.”, he threw a reassuring smile towards his nephew. Derek slightly loosened at that.

Sebastian stood up from his seat, drawing attention towards him as he strode towards his son. “I trust your mother's judgment. Congratulations on becoming an Alpha. I wish you all the luck.”, saying he patted Derek on the shoulder. Derek nodded a thanks, relaxing completely.

“I have already talked to Felix over the phone. He accepted Derek as the next Alpha as well. He'll be coming back as soon as he finishes his work.”, Talia finished.

After that, they all decided to scatter, each  going towards their respective bedrooms. Before Derek could leave, his mother stopped him. “Meet me in the morning after breakfast. I will be waiting at the study.”, Talia directed it to both Laura and Derek, then walking away with her husband towards their bedroom.

After they settled onto themselves in bed, Sebastian questioned, “Are you sure about this?” Knowing what her husband means Talia smiled at him, “I am.”

 

**~•~**

 

Derek gave a short knock on the door before pushing it open, entering the study. Talia was in there beforehand, working on some papers. His father settled in the rocking chair, simply accompanying her as he read a book.

Setting the papers away, his mother gave a bright smile, “Morning, Derek. Come have a seat.”, she gestured at the chairs opposite her desk. Like the grumpy wolf he was, Derek grunted something in reply, before seating himself on one. Laura hadn't arrived yet, he guessed they were starting without her.

She picked up a few notebooks from on side of the desk, and put in front of Derek. It was time to give her soon a little Alpha Talk. She started, “Leading a pack is tough job. Before you make any decisions, you'll have to be mindful of so many things. Before _anything_ else you must to make sure the things you decide are good for your pack. It'll leave you frustrated at times. Although tough at first, you'll become good at it after a while.”

With a sigh, Derek rubbed palm over his face. Being an Alpha was a heavy burden. He wasn't too sure he'd be able to do it. He decided to speak up about the thing that's been bugging him all night. “I could make make my own pack,you know. Like giving people the bite. Hell, I might already have a Beta.” That got a raised brow from Talia, Sebastian also looked up from his book with curious eyes.  Derek decided to continue, “Before you got there- I mean, last night, there was… another human. The Alpha had already attacked him when I reached them. If he took the bite, he would have turned by now.”

“Hmmm.. we'll have to look for him. If he has turned, he'll need a pack. That reminds me, what happened to you last night? Why didn't you just knock out the Alpha and leave him for us to deal? It seems like you lost control of your wolf before you even killed him.”

Derek fidgested on his seat. _God, why did his mother have to be so observant?_ “Uh- I don't really know?”, he spoke, “I just saw the wolf... harm t...and wanted to.. protect…”, throwing a bunch of incoherent mumble, Derek silenced.

His mind tracked back to the night before. Hearing a scream, when he got the clearing near the edge of the private land, his eyes fell upon a pale skinned human, the Alpha was about to attack. Blind rage had taken  over Derek and he leapt at the werewolf. A sudden wave of power had flowed through his body as his wolf took complete control. He felt a rush of satisfaction after killing the Alpha, like he did something to preen over. He had gotten angry when his mother and sister didn't let him get to the human. The emotions left him all confused. He didn't know what to make of it.

At that point Derek noticed both his parents were observing him, he quickly schooled his face to focus on what else his mother have to say. “I know you feel guilty for taking away Laura's position. But trust me. We all want the best for you more than anything. Did you think I haven't discussed it with Laura before making the decision? I'm sure she's fine with it. Maybe talk to her alone if it makes you feel better.”, Talia tried to reassure. “But she's so much better for this. I never wanted to be an Alpha. I never trained for it. I know _nothing_ about being an Alpha.”, running off his complaints, Derek slumped back on the chair.

“You'll be fine. You will have your pack with you to get through it.”, his dad offered him a smile. Talia continued, “That's right. We do this as a pack. There will be times, you’ll get stuck.”, A knock to the door halted her, she looked up. The door opened, revealing Laura on the other side. She shuffling in, she greeted, “Morning! Sorry, I'm late.”, then she seated herself next to Sebastian. Giving her a pointed look, Talia continued, “And on those times, the pack will help their Alpha and you'll get through it together. That's what pack does. Help each other out.”, finishing she pointed her thumb at the old notebooks, she previously brought forward, “These are journals, of previous Alphas of the Hales and a few other packs throughout the country. Your homework is to read them. You will learn more about Alphas and how they lived their lives. It'll help you in the long run.”

After that, Laura was the first to speak, “Aww, I missed mom giving the Alpha Talk.”, earning a eye roll from Derek. Their dad gave a soft chuckle from beside her before going back to his book.

Derek picked up one of the journals, opening, he realised it was in German.  Since the Hale family were previously from Germany, most books and notes in their family were written in German. After the WWII they started scattering to other countries. Grunting a thanks to his mom, he accepted them.

“Alright!”, Laura clapped her hands, “I will take the lead from here on out!”, causing Derek to look at their mother in confusion. Talia didn't say anything as went back to her papers to start working, her lips quirked up in a slight smirk.

Grinning, Laura answered his unspoken question, “We are having a bit of Alpha training, little brother.”

Derek groaned.

Fifteen minutes later, the two siblings were tackling each other to the ground. By the looks of it, the younger was losing. Like he does _every time._ They were in a small clearing. It was a training ground of sort, behind the mansion, initially created for young wolves to gain control over themselves. It was also the place they liked to gather on full moons.

Soon Laura tackled him to the ground, leaving no scope for Derek to even breath. A few seconds of holding him like that, Laura decided to let go. After Derek sat up, huffing at a his sister's grinning face.

“Hey.” Derek nudged his sister, causing Laura to glance at him.

“What?”

"I'm sorry”, he mumbled.

Laura laughed, “Of course, you're still guilty about it. Gosh, you'll give your partner one hell of a time dealing with you.” “That's not the point.”, Derek frowned. “Right, right. Sorry. But really, stop feeling guilty. It doesn't matter to me who becomes the Alpha as long as we are all happy. I don't mind that I didn't get to have the Alpha status. I'm too lazy for that anyway. But I'm glad you won't have to leave the pack to have your own.”, if her voice turned affectionate at the end, no one was there to point it out.

They sat there in silence for a few moments before Laura broke the silence with her giggling,  “Alpha or not, I will always be the older sister, who kicks your ass in every training.”, saying she threw herself at Derek for a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading. What are your thoughts on the chapter? Comment below!


	3. Moment Of Crisis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad I finally finished the chapter. I have not been home for a while and I cannot write with the tiniest of noise. I have been writing like a s n a i l. Please forgive me for being so late!  
> Also I realised yesterday one the Hale twin's name match Mr. Harris'. So I went back and changed his name again. Now I like his name better although it doesn't seem much since I left out the middle name. Yes, all of Derek's siblings have middle names. I thought I'd just leave them out until when their mom or Stiles decides to kick their ass and use them. x)  
> Anyway enough rant. I appreciate all the love and support you all have given me.  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter. Share your thoughts with me, I'll be waiting at the comment section!

Stiles got out of his Jeep, then proceeded to walk towards the school, all bleary-eyed from the lack of sleep. The previous night's incidents left him all too confused and restless to be able to fall asleep. As a result, he ended up falling asleep at three in the morning, getting only a few hours of sleep before he had to get up.

When he reached near to the entrance, Stiles noticed Scott walking a couple of feet ahead. He picked up the pace, in order to join his friend.

“Yo, Scott.”, greeted Stiles, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, in the process. His friend mumbled out a good morning in reply, seeming sleep deprived as well. Stiles asked, “Uh, how's it? Y'know…”, flapping his hands towards his injured shoulder. They went inside conversing, as they walked towards their first class which they shared. “It's okay, I think. I disinfected the wound before bandaging.”, Scott responded. He wore hoodie, that concealed his bandaged shoulder fairly well. Scott stopped in the hallway near their classroom, halting Stiles as well. “I’m really sorry by the way, about last night.”, he spoke again, looking like a kicked puppy, “I left you there alone. When I noticed you weren't following, I was already far. Then I tried to go back but couldn't figure out which way I came from.”

With that, Stiles’ thoughts rewinded back to the previous night. The events that followed after he was left behind, fleeted before his eyes. Whenever Stiles thought of the man, how he saved him from becoming dinner for an unfamiliar creature, his stomach did a funny thing akin to what it was doing right that moment. Going by the name and connection to the Hales, it was the son of Talia and Sebastian Hale, Derek Hale. Deciding to distract himself, he opted for thinking about Lydia. Lydia Martin, the most beautiful woman on earth, _from Stiles’ standpoint,_ with strawberry blonde curls, green eyes. Who Stiles loved and wanted since he was in third grade. And by coincidence, she was walking straight in their direction. Figuring it as an opportunity, Stiles went to grab her attention, “Hey Lydia, you look like…”, she went past him without noticing his presence, “You're gonna ignore me.”, he finished _. What was with women, not even acknowledging his presence._ Scott shook his head, holding back a smile. Stiles faced his friend with a glare, “Anyway, don't worry about it. I got back home just fine. My dad _made sure_ of it.”, Stiles replied to Scott's earlier apology. “Shit man, the Sheriff?”, Scott seemed sympathetic. Stiles nodded, “Yeah. I think I nearly escaped being grounded this morning.”, waving his arms around he questioned, “But _dude_ , you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? You need a doctor get it checked out!”

His friend sighed before explaining, “Come on. I couldn't have my mom know I _snuck out_ of the house late at night and almost got myself _killed_ by a Cougar.” Hearing that, Stiles snapped his head towards Scott. “Wait, wh-what did you say? A Cougar?”, he asked, tilting his head to the side. Scott shrugged, “Yeah, you didn't hear it from your dad? The police captured the animal. They identified it as a Mountain Lion.”

“Scott, you were _there_ last night. You know, it wasn't something simple as a frickin’ _Mountain Lion!_ ”, Stiles exclaimed, gaping from the shock that his friend believed that bullshit. “I- Uh, I don't know man. It was dark at that time. I d-didn't see clear.”,Scott seemed nervous on his words, his eyes evasive.  “Yeah, but-”, Stiles’ protest was cut off as the bell rang, indicating the beginning of class. Scott winced, covering his ears with his hands. Stiles scrutinised the movement for a moment, then decided to not comment on it although, that turned out to be difficult considering, it was _Stiles_. He followed his friend inside the classroom, taking a seat beside him.

While waiting for the class to begin, Stiles decided he'd analyse the stuff Scott told him. He didn't get enough time to ask his dad about the previous night since the Sheriff came back looking all sorts of tired, a little before he had to leave for school. Instead, he decided to leave his dad a healthy breakfast and Stiles’ Special coffee. What do you mean it was not him being a good son but to bribe his dad from not punishing him. It was only a coincidence that it also worked for that. Back to the Cougar, Stiles was confused why the police would identify _that_ creature as one. Even if he wasn't sure of anything else, he was sure it wasn't some Mountain Lion. There was also the matter with Derek. After killing the supposed “cougar” with _his bare hands_ (what was with those fangs and claws anyway…), he seemed to _attain_ power from it. That was the only explanation he could come up with for the red eye but _God_ , that didn't make any sense even to him.

Pushing away the thoughts for later, Stiles put his attention back on to the class, well, he tried to. The teacher had just started to write on the board, that was when the vice-principal enters the room along with a girl their age, following closely behind. The man faced the class while the girl stood beside him, looking nervous. “Class, this is our new student, Allison Argent.”, gesturing towards the girl, the man introduced. Then turned towards her, “Allison, would you like to say anything?”

Allison took a deep breath and smiled, waving a hand at the class, “Hi, I'm Allison! I moved here recently with my family.”, she opted for a brief intro. Then she walked through the rows, taking a vacant seat right behind Scott, who instantly turned on his seat, offering the girl a pen. Allison looked startled by the sudden gesture then took the pen, thanking.

 _Nicely done, Scotty!_  

 

•~×~•

 

After school Stiles ended up in front of his locker with Scott by his side. As he finished chucking the books in the locker, he turned to his friend. Scott was looking intently at something so he followed his gaze only to find Lydia talking to the new girl, Allison. Lydia's douchebag boyfriend Jackson stood present, wrapped around her. “Man, beautiful people sure flock together.”, sighed Stiles, pushing Scott to get moving. They needed to get to the field for Lacrosse tryouts.

At the field, Stiles put himself together for the tryout, seeming as unenthusiastic as possible about the whole ordeal. What he learned over the years was that, Lacrosse wasn't his thing. He came handy only as a benchwarmer. He often thought of quitting then backing out. His dad liked the idea that his son busying himself with something, Stiles didn't want him to worry if he quit. And hey, Scott seemed enthusiastic enough to cover for both of them. Although he had an injured shoulder, who knows, he might actually get to play this season. Hence, Stiles stayed.

Looking around, Stiles saw a small crowd of people on the bleachers, waiting to watch the tryout. He groaned when recognized Lydia with the new girl. It was obvious, those two were there to cheer for Jackson. He noticed Scott gaping at the new girl then, Allison, too, sent a smile towards him. Watching the exchange, Stiles’ lips quirked up in a smirk. It's been mere hours Scott met the girl, and his friend was already a goner. Good for him that Allison seemed to be fond of him as well.

“Alright, everybody!”, Coach Finstock blew on the whistle, long and loud, grabbing attention of all the boys. Once he gathered all of them near, began yelling out orders. “Mahealani, pass your gears to McCall!”, he ordered the goalie, then turned to Scott, “McCall, you'll be doing some goalkeeping today. That'll help the team lifting up the spirit.”

Ouch, Coach was as harsh as ever, it made him feel bad for Scott. “You’ll pull it off, Scotty!”, Stiles patted his friend on the back, hoping for the best.

Turned out, Scott can not only do it but he did _ah-mazing_. The players kept attempting to goal but he blocked almost every one of them.

At the end, Coach was ecstatic. That's why, he decided to torture them even more and extended that day's session, much to everyone's chagrin.

They were given a short break before they had to start again. Scott strode towards Stiles looking as happy as a clam. “How did I do? Was it good?”, he sheepishly asked. “Good? Dude, it was _awesome!_ You did great!”, Stiles slapped his friend on the back in excitement. Then he remembered about the injury and apologised, “Oops, sorry! How's your shoulder doing?” Scott stared at him for a moment, like he didn't understand what Stiles was talking about. Then he seemed to remember, “Oh, it doesn't seem to hurt anymore.”, he replied shrugging, he peeled off the bandage to show Stiles. Both of them were bewildered seeing the injury had almost healed, a faint trail of teeth the only proof that he was bitten in the first place. Stiles’ voice was filled with surprise, “Whoa, wha- bite marks don't heal that fast do they...” “Um, I don't think so. Anyway, I need to go, Coach's starting.”, saying Scott hurriedly walked away. “Wa- Scott, wait! We need to talk about this...”, Stiles voice trailed off, “Dammit.”

The Coach started, “Alright, listen clearly! This will determine who plays in the team and who warms the benches with Greenberg! Now, let's get this thing started!”, finishing with a blow of his whistle.

Stiles decided to sit at the bench, refusing to drain anymore of his stamina on the field. He observed Scott out there, worrying his bottom lip.

There was one person furious at Scott's success. Jackson Whittemore, the Star lacrosse player as well as the captain of the team. In his jealousy, that guy shoved Scott to the ground as soon as practice started. Moments later, Scott got back up on his feet and Stiles watched with disbelieving eyes the things he did after his friend took control of the ball. He agilely moved through all the players, ducking and spinning as they attempted to tackle him. Eventually he got near the goalpost, doing an impressive flip, he scored a goal.

The coach blew his whistle, calling out to Scott, “McCall, come here!” Scott nervously marched towards Finstock and the coach yelled, slapping his shoulder, “Good lord, McCall! Whatever fucking gymnastics stunt you pulled off, it was good. You're getting first line!”

A huge grin broke on Scott's face. Stiles left his seat, sprinting towards him. The boy pulled his friend in a hug, “Congrats, man. You did it!”, grinning he said.

 

•~×~•

 

"So, you're telling me you can hear things no human should be able to, you also have accelerated speed?” to make sure, Stiles inquired while he put on his hoodie.

After practice, both boys were in the locker room, about to leave. They were alone, others having left the room by that time.

“Yes.”, replied Scott, “It was as if everything was moving in slow motion. There's also heightened sense of smell. Like I can smell the mint flavour gum in your pocket.” Stiles gave the boy a incredulous look as he shoved his hands in his pockets, “What do you mean, I don't have any gu-”, he ceased talking, bringing out a stick of gum. Scott levelled him with a look saying _, I told you_.

“Well... _okay_.”, Stiles spoke after a beat. Scott worried as he paced in front of Stiles, “What if I got an injection from the bite or something?”

“Maybe I know what might have happened to you.”, Stiles’ mouth went off once more, “Its called lycanthropy. Although, it'll only happen once a month.”

Scott looked at him, concern written all over his face. “You have been cursed, Scott. You're a werewolf now.”, Stiles elaborated, in all seriousness. Staring at him for a moment, Scott shoved him, “Come on, Stiles. Stop joking. You nearly got me a heart attack.”, he chuckled. Stiles laughed along with his friend. Although it sounded absurd, he half believed what he said. Everything clicked to place, the previous night's events. But, he kept it to himself, needing to be certain. Stiles settled upon going back to the preserve soon. He had some answers to receive!

They arrived at the parking lot, getting to their means of transport. “Damn, Coach held us for so long, I'm getting late for my job. I was thinking of getting my inhaler back today, too.”, Scott grumbled. “Get back? From where?”, Stiles’ questioned in confusion. Scott sighed then began explaining, “I dropped it at the preserve last night. I'd rather leave it there instead of going back there. But, they are not cheap. I can't have mom get me a new one again.”

Eyeing his friend, blurted Stiles, “Think I can get it for you.” “You will?”, Scott asked, looking hopeful. “Yeah, since I'm such a good friend.”, Stiles gave a dramatical sigh, “Besides I don't have any plans. I'll get it for you.”, finishing the boy smirked. Scott gave his friend a blinding grin, “Thanks, dude. I owe you one.”

They fist bumped then Scott got on his bike, pedaling in direction to the Vet's chamber. It was late afternoon. Stiles needed to hurry before the sun set, losing his chance to finds Scott's inhaler in the dark.

•~×~•

 

Driving through the preserve as further as the thick lines of trees would let, Stiles pulled up his car. He turned the engine down, getting off. Taking in a quick pace, he brushed past the trees to where he assumed the clearing was. Living all his life on Beacon Hills plus being a master at mischief, Stiles knew the preserve fairly well. Soon, he reached the place, began searching for the small pale object. His eyes glued downcast while he trampled the dead leaves beneath.

Hence, Stiles was caught off guard when he became aware of someone else's presence mere two feet away. Startled seeing a pair of dark jean clad legs, his heart caught on his throat. Stiles snapped his head up, meeting a pair of green eyes that belonged to, well, _Derek Hale_. An inadvertent gasp escaped him from both shock as well as awe. Now that it was not that unusual colour of burning coal, Stiles could make out the flecks of gold throughout the green, in such close proximity.

“Wow, you have such beautiful eyes.”, and that was the first thing blurted out of Stiles. _Damn his traitor mouth!_

At that, one of Derek's thick eyebrows raised up to his hairline, lips thinning out. And did the guy not look absolutely elegant doing even these simple facial gestures. And his _voice_. It was rough and quiet as he bit out, “What are you doing here?”

“Uhm, I was- I was looking f-for some-something... Uh, _my friend_ dropped his inhaler somewhere here last night.”, stuttering he responded, darting his eyes all over the place, not wanting to look at Derek. His stomach doing that thing again where it twisted into knots, all the weight disappearing.

Stiles noted from the corner of his, Derek brought out something from his pocket, tossing at him. He caught it, looking down, realised it was Scott's inhaler. Stiles looked back up at Derek who had his gaze fixed on Stiles, void of all emotions. “Leave. This is private property.”, uttered the man then turning away, leaving Stiles at a loss of words, gaping at him.

“Fuck”

Several moments later, Stiles broke out of his stupor. He cursed, kicking at a lone rock. Each time he met that man, he became muddle-headed. He could think nothing more than how he much he wanted to learn about Derek, become close with him, be able to touch him. But he refrained to do any of them because one, they didn't even met each other until the night before. Two, he was a _guy!_ Stiles shouldn't be feeling this way at all! Well, he guessed long before he went for both teams but never paid much attention to it. After all, he had Lydia Martin! He was committed to her although, she never acknowledged him. But he was a one woman man and so he will be!

Turning around, he noted the the sign indicating the land belonged to the Hales. Perhaps, that guy had a thing for strolling the perimeters of the land or something. It explained why Derek was here the night before and now. But, Stiles still needed answer for a ton of other stuff. Damn Derek for being so goddamn attractive. _No,_ he was _not_ going to think about Derek anymore. He'll ask his dad, the Sheriff must know something.

Stiles strode back towards his car, and got in. He gave it a once-over, then wheeling out of the place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they finally talk but only a few sentences. As expected of Derek. :')  
> They're be more interection between these two in the next chapter!


	4. Predators, Not Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was sort of annoyed at the chapter while I wrote it. This and the previous chapter was supposed to be one WHOLE chapter. But I had to cut them since I always have a tough time writing around people. Then I went over editing some stuff now I think it's passable. Plus I'm back home now which means more time to write! \o/  
> I MIGHT CHANGE MY NAME. I'M NOT SURE. SO IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WITH A SIMILAR NAME UPDATING THIS FIC THAT MIGHT BE ME.  
> Edit: I changed my name.  
> Enjoy~

Derek had been fuming all the way back the the Hale house.

He had been out on a patrol around the compound when he ran into that human boy once more. It was unfortunate that the boy smelled, basically reeked of another werewolf, causing his fury.

Out jealousy, harsh words poured out before Derek could put a hold on himself. Which resulted in Derek guilt pooling low on his stomach. He settled on fleeing the site while condemning himself.

Now, as he was entering the house, he seemed right in time for dinner. The entire house filled with the mouthwatering smell of cooked meat. Derek's stomach growled loud in appreciation. A few giggles travelled from the kitchen, _the girls_. Rolling his eyes he entered the kitchen. Taking out one of the chairs on the dining table, he slumped on it.

Glancing at him, Laura wrinkled her nose in disgust, “Go take a shower. You stink.” Derek didn't bother with a reply as he waited for his mother to serve dinner.

“Derek, Derek! Mum told me you became an Alpha. Now you will be our our new Alpha. Is that true?”, six year old Olivia asked. Derek smiled at her, unusual for the present him, “Yes. Although not until mom's still in charge.” Nodding, Olivia went back to intently watching her older sister design a notebook.

His Uncle Ben's wife, Elena, had been on her last stage of pregnancy when they lost their home to the fire. The youngest Hale, Olivia, had been that little miracle, all of them needed to help lift up the spirits while they recovered from the loss.

“That reminds me, Derek. I smelt a young wolf at school today. I didn't expect you to use your new powers to give someone the Bite so soon.”, this time his younger sister spoke, her eyes scrutinising him. “It wasn't me”, Derek grunted in reply. Talia sighed, explained on behalf of her son,“It was the rogue Alpha.”

“Most importantly, you need to tell me who it is. I've gotta find him. He needs an Alpha. He needs a pack.”, Derek talked, dismissing the previous topic.

“Shouldn’t you be familiar with him by now? You still have Stilinski's scent on you.”, she inquired, scrunching her nose. Derek raised one eyebrow in confusion, questioning back, “Why would I smell like the Sheriff?”

Shaking her head, Cora answered, “No, I meant his son.” This time Derek's eyebrow rose even higher. “She’s talking about the boy from last night.”, Laura helped, restraining a smile.

“Oh.”, the man uttered, at last. “But why do you have his smell?, the teenage girl asked, seeming suspicious. “Uh, he was wandering around the preserve. I ran into him and sent him back.”

The conversation did not go any farther, as Talia served dinner to the hungry wolves. Taste of delicious meat making them ignore everything else.

 

**~×~**

 

The first thing Stiles did after coming back home was flopping onto bed, not even bothering with shoes. Let's be real, Stiles wasn't someone who worked out often. As a consequence, exerting his body for Lacrosse, killed all his muscles. So, he decided to take a nap. He refused to deal with whatever werewolf shit was going on in this town before that. Yet, he couldn't keep himself from thinking about Derek and ended up falling asleep with thoughts of the grumpy guy he didn't even know why he was drawn to so much. Although Stiles will never acknowledge he did such thing. He wasn't some teenage girl in a rom com show! Well, he was a teenager and maybe with hots for Derek but that wasn't the point!

 

Stiles woke up a few hours later, his brain still all fogged up from sleep. He stumbled downstairs, on to the kitchen. Grabbing a glass, he filled it up with water. He then chugged it all down in one go, saturating his parched throat.

It was way past dinner time. Besides Noah had yet to get back. Stiles didn't feel like cooking for himself. Therefore, rummaging through the cupboards, the boy settled for a couple of Pop tarts and a pack of Reese's. In all likelihood, that was too much sugar for that hour, but Stiles did not give a damn plus there wasn't anybody present, judging him for it.

Afterwards, Stiles seated himself in front of his computer while he waited for his dad to get back home so that he could interrogate the man. Starting up the device, he opened the browser to look up whatever he could find about werewolves. His fingers flowed in swift motion on the keyboard, as he inserted the necessary keywords. Amidst _a buttload_ of fictions, he found few articles discussing the topic of real existing werewolves. Most of them talked about pretty much the same stuff; relations to the moon, pack, bloodthirst, hunting. The symptoms described in those articles matched with what was happening to Scott as well.

In conclusion, werewolves do exist. Scott had become one of them from being bitten by one motherfucker. It was all Stiles’ fault, too. He wished to kill that werewolf with his own hands although, it was dead already. That _thing_ deserved to die a hundred more times.

Stiles wondered if all of the Hales were werewolves as well. Derek seemed one plus they didn't appear to be fazed by it so the others had to be. It explained the reason why they lived so far into the woods. It helped conceal their bloody deeds. Stiles never would have thought them being such monsters with how nice they all acted, well, most of them. And now, Scott needed them in order to survive cause apparently, a werewolf couldn't work without its pack. Same as an actual wolfy wolf. Although he was sure Scott would not become a monster _like_ the one that bit him. He is gonna make sure of that.

He also had to wonder if his dad knew about them. He probably didn't. But, in case he did, Stiles had _a ton_ of questions to ask. He wanted to know why did he hide from Stiles along with a town worth of people, did he support them? Did he know how to tackle one of those monsters? He needed answers, for Scott's sake and for his own curiosity. But, he had to wat as it turned out, was not for long. Several minutes later he got a text from his dad.

_I'm gonna be late again tonight. Make sure to go to bed in time._

 

Stiles sprinted off his room, leaving his chair swiveling by itself. Moments later, he was out of the house, starting up his Roscoe. Fuck this shit. He was going to the Hales’ instead. He _needed_ to deal with the werewolf situation right now. Scott was his best friend, his brother and he had to do it for him. Although he wasn't sure why it couldn't wait till tomorrow when it was more safe, instead of late at night. He felt some sort of pull towards the Hale mansion, in the woods.

He'd been to the Hale house only a handful of times, long before the arson happened, together with his mother as she had been familiar with the head of the family, Talia Hale. He still remembered the women sending him to play with the daughter same age as him, Cora, who gave a displeased glance towards him, before walking away leaving him alone in the backyard. Now, driving on the gravel pathway he was curious how it looked, after being rebuilt.

Stiles pulled up at least twenty feet ahead of the house, a dark figure standing in the way to the house. Fear creeped up his spine, heart beating loud in his ears as he opened the door with shaky fingers. He got out, stumbling on his feet while he walked towards the figure putting on an air of confidence.

Turned out it was Derek Hale, standing defensive, ready to attack whoever dared to set foot on the territory. He still wore the clothes Stiles saw him wearing in the afternoon. Black leather, dark jeans. The clothes suited him so well, accentuating his features that Stiles forgot for a moment why and where he was as he drank in the grace that was Derek Hale. Only for a moment though. The trance broken, as Derek breathed out a grunt.

“I thought I told you to leave. What the hell are you doing back here?”, angered dripped of off Derek's voice. Stiles tried his best not to cower although, he was close to wetting his pants. _Should have brought the gun dad keeps in the house before leaving._ Stiles thought a bit late.

“I'm not scared of you.”, Stiles blurted, a little bashful which soon dissolved under Derek's murderous glare. “Okay, maybe a little. But that's not the point!”,  Stiles hurled out the words, then continued on, “I came here to talk! In the afternoon too, before you disappeared without giving me a chance to speak. I k-know what you are! And what that th-thing from last night was. Werewolves!” Stiles didn't think the other male's gaze could turn even more murderous, after that it _did_.

Derek’s eyes flashed red, “It doesn't concern you.”, he hissed out the words. That put Stiles over the edge, he began to ramble.

“Of course, it does!”, Stiles yelled at the top of his lungs, “I- Scott got bitten by one of you! He- He's like my brother and now he's becoming a monster as well!”

Stiles wasn't sure if he misread the expression as hurt. It lasted a split second for him to confirm, replaced by rage. Then, _oh fuck!_ he really regretted not having a filter when he talked, Derek lunged at him. Stiles stumbled back in reflex with a squeak.

“Derek.”

The voice, drifted through the wind, calm yet full of authority. It halted Derek mid air although, he failed to cease his fall. He ended up dropping on top of the younger male, knocking the breath out of him.

Stiles would laugh at the situation, if it weren't for the sensation he felt when their skins made contact. It felt as though an electric spark, making them both gasp. When Stiles’ eyes met Derek's, he noted them to be glowing a bright red. Same as it had the night before.

Sound of footsteps got closer. Derek rolled off of him, eyes returning back to normal while he stood back up. Stiles began an internal freak out when he saw who was it that arrived, Talia Hale. The woman was reputed figure of the society. Many feared her out of respect, Stiles was no different. Now though, there were even more reasons to fear her. She stood right at his feet, facing Stiles as she began speaking, “How about we take this inside? We have a lot to discuss regarding your friend.”

Stiles answer was instant, his head jerked in nodding while he attempted to get back on his feet. Smiling she turned, walking back towards the house. Stiles noticed another person, standing on the front porch. Getting closer he recognized it was Laura. _This girl is near her mother all the time like a shadow._

Under the soft light reflecting from the porch, Stiles noted the outside of the mansion looked pretty much the same if not a little bigger than it had been before the fire. Only now it had a large garden growing unknown flowers, fruits and herbs. A thought floated up in his mind as he crossed the threshold of the house. _They weren't vegetarian wolves, were they?_

At the sight of the house interior, Stiles’ mouth hung open. The entryway seemed fairly normal, as normal as a house this big could look. A wooden cabinet situated against the right, a huge wood framed mirror sticking from the wall above it. A rack hung from the other wall, acting as a coat hanger. Then he crossed it, descending down a couple of steps, arriving straight onto an enormous living room. It was all traditional style with an abundant of sitting arrangement. One of the walls had heavy curtains draped over it. To top it of the room even had a fireplace and _was that a fucking chandelier?!_

Although what truly baffled him was that the entire family present there. Some of the young ones throwing curious glances while the rest were slouching on their seats looking bored, overall a relaxed atmosphere. A scene from Harry Potter paused on the massive television screen sticking against the wall. Stiles realised, he had intruded them on their quality family time. Well, oops!

Talia led him on to a door beneath the stairs that spiraled upwards. A man in his forties got up from one of the armchairs, following behind.

It turned out to be a study room. A gigantic desk, like every other furniture in the house, centered against the only window of the room. Talia invited Stiles to sit in one of the chairs while she seated herself on the one behind the desk. The man went ahead and took the rocking chair, the action seeming something he did often. Laura leaned against the bookshelf while Derek opted for standing beside his mother, his mouth curved into a scowl.

Locking her fingers together, Talia spoke up, “So, Mr Stilinski. You mentioned wanting to talk about something?”

“Uhm yeah. It's Stiles, by the way.”, Stiles answered, “Anyway, I was here because of my friend. Scott, he- last night when were in the preserve, that thing attacked us. Scott got bitten by a it and now he's showing... _symptoms_.”

“Has he went to the hospital?”

Stiles huffed, “No, I didn't mean- Look, I know what it was. No matter what anyone tries to convince me I won't believe it was a Cougar or whatever. I _saw_ it, it was nothing like a Cougar! It was a werewolf. It bit Scott now he's becoming one as well! Plus what I saw last night, he is as well.”, Stiles pointed at Derek before continuing, “Since you didn't show any shock to all that, I assume all of you are. I want to help him. But I don't know anything about werewolves. Hell, I didn't even know they existed until today!”

“Stiles, calm down.”, Talia held up a hand, stopping the boy, “I think, I understand what you are trying to get across. Now, I want you to hear what I have to say.”, she paused, waiting for Stiles to get himself together. She continued when the boy nodded and focused on her. “I’m not sure how much you know about werewolves but I'm going to assume it's not much. At least not the true bits anyway. What I need you to know is your friend needs a pack to survive. I planned to make contact with your friend when Cora mentioned about sensing a young wolf in school.” “Wait, so you can sense each other?”, Stiles interrupted. It was Laura who answered, rolling her eyes, “Not unless they're pack. But we can differ them with smell.”

Laura continued once more, “He needs to learn control his shift otherwise, it'll cause problems for him and others. We'll teach him how to keep in control, if he agrees to cooperate. I think you can help us with it. Stiles, can I expect you to work with us?”

“I-is there a way to lift the curse?”, Stiles questioned instead. “The Bite is not a curse.”, Derek grunted from his place beside his mother, his scowl deepening. Talia glanced at her son then at Stiles, “I agree with Derek. Giving someone the bite is precious to us. We don't give it to just anybody. I'm afraid there is no reversal once it is successful.”, explaining she leaned back.

“Wait, so there's a chance of it going wrong?” As soon as the question left his mouth, Derek tensed up. Only for a moment, then he collected himself, going back to scowling. Stiles stared in confusion, deciding not to pry he asked again, “Why did the other werewolf bit him then?” Derek scoffed at him, “Pretty sure he was going to rip your friend apart if you did not hit him.”

At that Stiles was left looking shell shocked with his mouth parted, no words coming.

“Derek. You shouldn't talk like that.”, the older man reminded. Derek huffed before stomping off the room, slamming the door in his wake. _Dramatic_.

The man gave an apologetic smile, “Sorry about him. The sudden powers are making him a bit cranky.”

Laura rolled her eyes, “You mean more than usual, dad.”

 _Oh!_ So, that was Sebastian Hale. The man seemed awfully... normal. Who would think he co-owned a fucking _bank_. Although he did have similar aura to his wife that made people want to respect him. Stiles never saw him since the man never made mu public appearance, working in the shadows while his wife made up for his social absence.

“So Stiles, can I expect you to cooperate with us?”, Talia asked once more. “Uh.”, Stiles fidgeted on his seat, “I'm-I'm not sure, _yet_. I mean, I don't even know if I can trust any of you but I do understand that Scott needs help from you. I just- I need some time to think before I decide on anything.”

“Sure. I hope you decide soon.”, Talia's response was compassionate.

Stiles nodded then got up from his seat. Talia signaled Laura to see the boy out.

Both of them walked through the living room once more. This time none of paid him any attention, most dozing off in their seats. As he was getting in his Jeep, Laura called out to him from behind.

“Stiles!” She walked up to him, stopping right beside the window, “We might be predators, but we're not monsters. Y'know, most of us don't even kill people in our entire lives.”, Stiles’ eyes widened at that. She gave him a sad smile before turning away. He watched as she walked back inside, stomach churning in guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment down your thoughts on the chapter! I love to hear them!  
> Next chapter is going to cover the full moon and all the crap Scott pulls!


	5. Wolf Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the full moon and Scott being a lil shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic reached over 1k hits! I'm so happy! Thanks to everybody who read and stick to the fic even though it probably has a bazillion of mistakes on top of my terrible writing. I can't appreciate enough for all the kudos and comments. These mean a LOT to me. I love you all. <3
> 
> It took about a week to update I'm sorry about that. I struggle a lot with keep my attention in place. Not even 5 minutes in writing, I find myself doing something totally different instead of writing and I don't even know how I got there.  
> Also my writing changed tenses at one point on the chapter for idfk what reason. I had to keep going back fixing them. I'm sorry if there are still some random present tense sentences left. x')
> 
> (Do people even read the notes)

The bell rang for lunch break, and Stiles shoved his books in his bag, followed the other students out of the classroom.

He texted Scott to meet at the cafeteria whilst he walked through the halls, heading there as well. Entering he immediately took a tray, piled it with food, then began looking around for his friend. Scott didn't seem to have arrived yet so, Stiles decided to find a seat for himself, saving another for the other boy. Since he was early, he found an almost empty table to sit. He placed the tray in front of one of the chairs and seated himself, starting to wolf down the food. With a mouth full of food he surveyed the crowd, for any signs of his friend.

After a few moments, Scott surged through the door, then went straight towards the food area. Piling an awful lot than what was normal for himself. Stiles raised one hand, waving to get Scott's attention. Swallowing the current mouthful fast without choking himself, he shouted, catching the attention of others around him.

“Scott!”

The crooked jaw boy winced at that, werewolf hearing,  _ oops! _ It did the job anyway so, whatever. Spotting Stiles, the boy crossed the distance in long strides. After the boy had taken a seat beside him, Stiles accused, “Dude, what took you so long?”

“Sorry, I was talking to Allison.”, Scott answered, looking not the least bit apologetic. By the looks of it, the boy was still relishing the conversation with her.

“ _ Allison. _ ”, Stiles said, it wasn't much of a question but a statement.

Scott grinned, “Yeah. _ Dude _ , listen. I've got a  _ date _ with her on Friday!”

“That sounds great! Bro's makin’ progress.”, Stiles patted him on the back, Scott just beamed.

Stiles needed to discuss with Scott about the previous day. Tell him all he learnt on werewolves. He started, “So, I need to talk to you about something.”

When he didn't get any response from Scott, the boy glanced at him only to find the other's attention somewhere else. Stiles followed his eye, falling a couple of feet away on to Allison,  _ of course _ . Beside her was  _ oh, Lydia! _ , looking gorgeous as always. He would have basked in her beauty a bit more if not for her boyfriend glaring daggers at him. So, he gave a brief look back to Scott and rolled his eyes. The boy appeared to be on a staring contest with Allison.

“Back to the Earth, Scotty.”, waving a hand Stiles called in order to get Scott's attention. When the boy looked back at him, Stiles continued, “Did you give a thought to what's been happening to you recently?” “Mm… I don't know man. Maybe I should get checked out after all.”, Scott answered while absentmindedly playing with his food. Stiles took a breath, before rambling off about what was going inside his head, “I did some…  _ research, _ after going back home yesterday. And Scott, my man, I am not joking, I think you really are-”, his voice ceased when he noticed Scott was  _ not _ paying attention. His mind still seemed to be preoccupied with Allison as he kept glancing back at the girl. Stiles sighed, defeated yet he did not give up! He shut up deciding to corner the other boy after school. Scott was not getting away especially when it was about himself!

  
  


Stiles was following Scott to Lacrosse practice, worrying how it would go this time. They reached the field, it was empty except for the players and a few onlookers scattered throughout the bleachers. He would not say he was surprised to see Allison sitting there. She waved at Scott, giving a dazzling smile that, by the looks of it, blinded the boy with affection, for sure. Stiles could probably even make out the hearts in his eyes if he squinted hard enough.

As  they began their practice, it was same as the day before. Scott's performance impossibly awesome like  _ something supernatural _ . But Stiles could only worry and hope that nobody else noticed how unnatural Scott's actions were.

Later, Stiles waited around the locker room for the other teammates to leave. As the last one left, he got up as well.

Thankfully, Scott also hadn't left yet. He looked rather afflicted, sitting on a bench, after he got out of the shower. The boy had his head down, staring at his palms.

“Scott. You okay, man?”, a worried Stiles inquired. “Yeah, 'm fine.”, Scott didn't look up as he answered, his voice seeming a bit distressed as well. Which didn't do anything to help ease Stiles’ concern. He stopped beside his friend, thinking of ways to explain the things he had time to think about all throughout the practice. “I think you should quit playing.”, He blurted out.  _ Way to go. _

Scott looked up this time, surprised at the comment, “What?” Arms flailing, Stiles elaborated, “Uh, I meant- look Scott, you're a werewolf now. And I think it's not the wisest of idea for you keep playing in the field. You are drawing attention to yourself! It's not good if someone finds out. You're putting yourself in danger!” “Wait, what?”, Scott looked even more surprised, “Stiles, I thought you were joking the other day! Let's not forget it was a  _ Cougar _ that bit me.” “It was NOT a Cougar, Scott. Goddammit!”, Stiles attempted to convince his best friend as he fidgeted on his feet, “Listen, after I went back home yesterday, I looked up all I could find about Lycanthropy. Scott, you  _ are _ a werewolf. Then I went to the Hales'-.”

“Wait, the Hales? What does this have anything to do with them?”, the werewolf seemed to be getting more and more confused. Rolling his eyes Stiles told, “Everything! That night, he was there. Derek Hale. He saved me- _ us _ . So, I went to them to find out more about the truth since internet isn't the most reliable for stuff that actually matters. The Hales, all of them are werewolves! Well, mostly all of them. And after talking to them I think, it's better for your own safety that you quit the team.”

“So, what if they are?! What if I am?!”, Scott yelled out of nowhere, startling the other boy. “Scott, what-”

“I wanted for so long to be able play in the team. To get in first line. Now that I got a chance I'm not giving it up because I've become a werewolf! I will just have to deal with whatever happens. I will not quit.”, punctuating out the last bits Scott began to turn. His eyes switched to an unusual gold, finger extended to claws, fangs dropping and hairs growing around his jawline. Letting out a growl, the werewolf stepped closer and closer, fuming at him.

Stiles panicked not knowing what to do, he began backing up, babbling at the same time, “Scott, buddy. You need to c-calm down. We're at the school, you can't wolf out here! I understand. I d-didn't mean to hurt your feelings. And I know you aren't going to physically hurt me for thi-”

Scott attacked, causing the paler boy to flinch with a yelp. His clumsy self the only thing helped save himself as he slipped on to floor. Although the werewolf's claws still landed on his arm, cutting deep.

Stiles hissed in pain, “Whoa! Well, okay. I see, you will hurt me. Okay…”, he mumbled getting up, scrambling away from the wolfed out boy.  _ It was a mistake. _ Although his friend seemed to gain control over himself for a bit yet losing it again. The werewolf was set to get him. Stiles ran for the door although he knew he was no match in agility. Scott caught him with his face against the wall, and he was trapped, his brain working itself to think up ways to help Scott regain his senses, to get free.

At that moment, a roar left everything vibrating. Stiles shuddered at the sound. Scott was gone from behind him, Stiles' pale body slid down to the ground. Gasping for air, he flipped around to the sight of Scott slumped against the wall at the other side of the room. Derek standing between the two of them, just shifting back to human.

“Wha-what're you doing at school?”, Stiles croaked out, catching Derek's attention. The man turned to face the boy but not responding with anything. Stiles took a glimpse at Scott then back to Derek, asking with concern, “You didn't kill him, did you?” Derek rolled his eyes before he gruffed out, “He’s just unconscious. I wasn't planning to do even that. I guess I can't control the new powers just yet.” The older werewolf stared at his hands, turning somber once more. As if he couldn't figure out how they worked anymore. “What does this new power entail? Like, is it some sort of rank? I mean, I noticed you all have different eye colours. Yours changed that night, after killing that…  _ thing _ .”

Derek's eyes widened a tiny bit, sole indication of his surprise, then he marched towards the human. Squatting down in front of him, the man looked straight in the eye as he answered, “What you saw that night was an Alpha. The strongest of our kind. They're also the only one who are able to turn humans. Your friend is a Beta. I used to be one as well.”

“ _ Ahh _ , but yours were blue while Scott's gold?”, the boy uttered. Under the wolf's gaze, Stiles fought to keep himself from blushing. 

When Derek spoke it wasn't directed at him although, that took a moment for him to realise. “If I were you I would not try that.”, the man stated calmly, and stiles gave him a dubious look before he understood. More like he  _ heard _ . Scott was conscious, also growling from his position, planning to pounce.

“What are you doing? Get away from him!”, Scott snarled at the man. Derek stood back up, not paying any attention to the human any longer.

The older examined the younger werewolf, “My reason to come here was to have a talk with  _ you _ .”, he talked. Scott snarled again in response, “We don't have anything to talk about. Oh my God! Stiles, what's that cut? Did he do that?”, angered dripped from Scott, he growled at Derek. The man appeared to be having a hard time to not roll his eyes, utterly annoyed having to deal with Scott. He voiced, “And  _ that's _ what we need to discuss about. Your control.  “Sad to break it to you buddy but it was your doing.”, Stiles responded then.

Scott seemed horrified at that, “Wh-what? But I don't remember doing anything like that!” “All the more reason for you to learn control then. You're lashing out even at people your care for. You need a pack to ground yourself then learn control.”, Derek explained.

“I don't have any pack to join though.”

“You do.”, Derek announced.

“I do?”, Scott seemed puzzled. Derek cleared the confusion,“Since I'm your Alpha now, my pack will be yours as well once you agree to join.” “And If I don't to?”, Scott questioned with caution. The Alpha shrugged, “I'll still teach you since it's my duty as your Alpha.” The Beta only nodded.

Stiles had been observing the from the side, tempted to interrupt multiple times, barely managing on holding himself back.

Derek continued, “On the full moon, you are to cancel everything you've got going. Then come to the pack house. It's always tough on full moons, especially when you have just been turned. Your bloodthirst will be at its peak, your shift always close to surfacing. We can't let you walk around people, risking a chance of shifting and attack someone.” “Wait, why am I hearing about the full moon only now?!”, Stiles butted in. Derek glared at him and he did a zipping motion, implicating he'll stay silent. The Alpha glanced back at Scott, “If you don't want to turn up there by the moon comes up, I'll make sure you do.”, that was the last point he made before leaving the two sitting on the locker room floor.

Scott turned to Stiles, asking, “When's the full moon?”

“Friday.”

 

**×××**

 

Friday after school, Stiles was on a hunt to find Scott. He'd been trying to talk to the boy all day but Scott keeps evading him every time.  _ Damn, his werewolf senses! _

Stiles found Scott near the lockers, holding a conversation with  _ Jackson _ , out of all people. They were done talking by the time he reached them. Jackson shoved at Stiles, as he walked by. The lanky boy stumbled against one of the lockers.

Scott hovered next to him worriedly, asking, “Hey. You okay?” “Yeah. I'm fine. Great even.”, Stiles replied grinning. Scott chuckled, “That's good to hear.” Stiles turned serious immediately, throwing questions at his friend, “But what about you? It's the full moon tonight. How's the impact?” Scott sighed,“It’s..” “Just how Derek explained it to would be?”, Stiles provided. “Yeah… but I'm not going there and cancel my date with Allison. I'm sure I'll figure something out without their help.”, the boy defended.

They were now talking as they walked out of the school. It was Stiles who sighed this time, “I know you can figure it out. I will help you even, if you want to. But at least cancel the date tonight! It's too risky. I've thought about it for the past few days. How it works.  You start shifting when you're excited or anything that causes your heart rate to accelerate. When you're with Allison you'll be excited. The shift's inevitable, you might hurt her!”, Stiles concluded. He paused on the parking lot, halting Scott as well. Then he fished out Scott's phone from his pocket. “I'll cancel it myself.”

“Stiles, you would do  _ no such thing!”,  _ the werewolf immediately shifted, throwing Stiles against his car. Stiles groaned as his injured arm got a jolt from the action. Scott instantly shifted back apologising to his friend profusely, “I'm so sorry, Stiles. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I should go.” The boy then ran to his bike, quickly getting on it and taking flight.

Getting into his Jeep, Stiles began driving towards home. Driving for a while he parked the car on the side of the road, thinking for a moment. Then he took the next turn that would lead him towards the preserve instead of the Sheriff's resident.

  
  


The sound of an vehicle turning up the road put him on high alert in an instant. Derek ran up to the front door, slowing himself once he recognized who it could be.

It was the same the other night as well. An unfamiliar vehicle, his new gained Alpha instincts making him run to so that he could protect his family, his pack. Turned out it was the lanky human, the Sheriff's son.

Everytime he met the boy, something inside him seemed to go crazy for him. It didn't help the matters that the boy himself emitted a scent of arousal whenever they were together.

Now, he was here again. On the day of a full moon. When his control was at his weakest. His instincts all over the place. Thankfully the Moon wasn't out yet, there was still plenty of daylight.

So, Derek went out the door, putting on his most neutral face. The boy,  _ Stiles, he called himself _ , was getting out of his Jeep. In clumsy feet, he scurried the distance to the house, pausing only for a moment when he noticed Derek at the porch.

He didn't understand though, why would someone like  _ him _ would make Derek feel such way. That boy was a complete  _ opposite _ of Derek. It didn't make sense to him. But he realised, he didn't mind it much either. Except that the boy was still in high school. Whenever he remembered the fact, he put all those odd feelings somewhere locked inside.

Stiles stopped in the center of the pathway, sending him a nervous smile, “H-Hey. I thought I'd drop by to um,  _ mention _ something since I didn't have any other way of contacting… I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind.”

“It's fine. What did you want to talk about?”, Derek questioned.

“You guys seem to preparing for a celebration or something. Or is that how it is on every full moon?”, Stiles curious gaze darted around, taking in the whole place, processing as much information as possible. He looked adorable to Derek, something similar to a deer being curious about the wolf den nearby, as it went to drink water. Derek huffed at himself, it worked as a response to Stiles as well.

“Stiles.”, Derek's mother called out to the boy, smiling. She had creeped up on them from behind the house. “You should be inviting our guest inside first, Derek.”, the woman saying that to her son, gestured to the human fidgeting awkwardly, to get inside.

On their way inside, Talia responded to Stiles’ question, “Are you familiar with various names given to the each month's full moon?”, asking she didn't pause for an answer, “The January is called the Wolf Moon. Us werewolves hold a ritual of sort every year for it. Back in the day it used to be a prayer for a good winter, a sufficient amount of food for the pack. Now it is just a tradition we partake in, to pray for a better year ahead, for the prosperity of the pack. Although not many packs do this anymore. Since actual wolves are almost gone from most places, it draws human attention to ourselves. Take a seat.”, she finished , the smile still on her face.

They were standing in the living room Stiles figured it'd be only polite to do as told. Once seated, Stiles began speaking. “I have read about people giving names to full moons. Interesting, that you actually celebrate it.”, Stiles’ eyes shone from curiosity which he had to suppress, and speak about to more pressing matters on hand, “So, Scott is going to a party tonight. It's a date so he doesn't want to cancel. I tried to convince him but he wouldn't listen. He even lost control again. I know you said you'll find him if doesn't get here but I thought it would be easier if I informed you where he went.”, Stiles paused for a breath. “You did good.”, Talia provided. It's going to help us a lot to get him before the hunters do.”

“Wait, hunters?!!?!”, Stiles’ head snapped at her direction then back to Derek. “Why do you keep leaving out important details!”, the boy exclaimed. “It wasn't necessary to tell you. You don't need to know everything.”, Derek grunted. Stiles appeared scandalised, “If you don't tell me the important stuff how do you expect me to cooperate with you guys? I mean if I was a magician I'd try reading your mind or something but I'm NOT.”

Talia talked, sounding a bit amused, “He’s right, Derek. I remember asking you to explain the basic information to your prospective pack.” “Fine. I'll keep that in mind. Now, where is he off to?”, Derek grumbled, tossing the last question at Stiles.

Stiles had a smug face as he answered, “From what I know, the party's at Lydia's house. Lydia Martin. Y'know the Martin’s? I might help you get there if you ask nicely.” Derek rolled his eyes at that, “I'll just have to follow Scott's scent.” Stiles huffed, “Of course.  _ Werewolves _ .”

Smirking as he attempted to get up. He still needed to take a shower after spending so much time helping the pack prepare for the ritual. Derek then realised he'd been in home clothes the whole time. A pair of loose sweatpants and a gray tank top that clung to his skin. No wonder, today the boy smelled so strongly of arousal. It wasn't Derek's fault though. He had been working all afternoon, okay?

He quickly snuck away, up the stairs, to his bedroom. Entering the adjoining bathroom for a quick shower. 

  
  


Afterwards, when Derek had showered and properly dressed, he came down to the living room. A few of the pack was hanging around then there was  _ Stiles _ , stuffing food down his throat like he'd die this instant if he didn't eat.

“And why are you still here?”, Derek questioned as soon as he reached the sitting area.

Cora chimed in, “I would like to know as well. Why is he even back here in the first place?”

“Wow, rude. Your mom invited to stay.”, the boy answered around a mouthful of food. His face scrunched up in a dramatic way, as if to express he'd been wronged. Talia wasn't present in the room at that moment, so he had no idea why his mom wanted a the boy to stay. She seemed to be quite fond of the boy, probably that's why.

Derek didn't bother with the matter anymore. Not like a puny human like him could do any harm surrounded by a house full of werewolves. He decided to leave to get his stupid Beta.

Stepping outside Derek found his mother right there, lighting up the lanterns. He stood behind her, knowing she had already felt his presence he spoke, “Are you sure you want me to go? Maybe, Laura should-” “If you're worried about losing control yourself, I have faith you won't. Even everything is much amplified, I know you would not let your wolf get the better of you.”, she turned to face him, her eyes glittering with pride.

Derek relaxed by a lot at her words. Then she patted his cheek, offering comfort that he gladly accepted, leaning in to it.

At the sound of the door opening both of them turned their attention to the house. Stiles slipped out of mansion, walking towards his Jeep. The boy paused, noticing the mother and son. He waved at them, “Uhm, I need to get to the party. So I'll be leaving now. Thanks for the food!” 

“I hope you come again. I'd love to have a chat with you again in better circumstances.”

Derek observed with a raised eyebrow. “So?”, he spoke, grabbing his mother's attention, “What did you talk to him about?”

“The basic information on werewolves that someone would not explain to the poor kid.”, she explained,, getting a nod from her son. “Also had to explain that my son is an idiot who doesn't know how to act nice around people. Although inside he's just a goofball.”, Derek only scoffed and Talia burst into laughing.

  
  


Half an hour later, he was waiting inside his Camaro in front of the McCall residence.  _ Totally not giving off creeper vibes. _ He swiped a hand over the dashboard, wiping off non-existent dust.

The car had been a gift from his parents when he turned eighteen, in hopes to cheer him up. Even though at that time it had already been almost two years that the arson happened, he was still suffering, closing himself off from everybody. His dad bought it for him hoping it'd distract him. It did, Derek would obsess over it and it helped him forget about the trauma Kate left in his life even if only for a short while. But it had been enough for him to get himself out of the comfort of his pack. He decided to study in a college after homeschooling the last couple of years of highschool.

Derek looked back at the McCall resident, observing every movement inside the house. He heard Scott's conversation with his mom, then, the woman seems to return to her bed and Derek tunes them out.

About fifteen minutes had passed, the front door opened, revealing Scott who got into the car and driving away. Another few minutes later, Derek started up his own, following the younger werewolf.

Scott dropped by a house on the way, picking up a girl. Derek kept up a good distance until they reach the Martin residence. He parked his car a few houses behind to be safe. Sneaking into the house he lurked in corners, alert for anything from Scott. The man caught sight of Stiles a couple of times although the boy handt notice him. He was rather busy obsessing over a redhead girl. Listening in he figured it was most likely the host, Lydia. A pang of disappointment surged up when he remembered how Stiles’ hurt fluttered as talked about the girl.

Then the time arrived. Scott ran off outside. Derek jumping into motion, followed suit, to clear the mess of his Beta. To be honest Derek was a bit relieved to able to get out of here at last. He never liked parties, there was always too many people.

He got outside at the same as Stiles. The boy ran towards the girl Scott was with. 

“Allison.”, he called out. When she turned around looking puzzled, “Stiles, what happened to him? He just left without saying anything.” “I- I think I know what happened. He's got asthma. He probably had an attack and got embarrassed that he left.”, explained he. Derek could even  _ taste _ the lie.

“Uhm, do you know who he is?”, she asked all of a sudden peering at Derek. Stiles looked back and noticed Derek who was standing there, confused about what to do now that the boy had approached Allison instead of him.

“Ah, that- that's my f-friend! That's right.”, Stiles looked back at the girl and beamed. With the best friendly smile he could master the man greeted, “Nice to meet you.” and got a nod from her.

Stiles clapped his hands, breaking up the awkwardness, “Okay, let's get you get back home safe. I think Scott would appreciate it. Derek, see you l-later… um, I guess?”, he stammered out the last bit to Derek, before taking Allison to his car.

The wolf watched the two leave, then took his car, driving towards the preserve. Leaving his car near the mansion, he ran out in the woods, stopping in the middle of nowhere, intending to bring the beta out here. Derek let his shift take over then threw his head back, staring up to the moon. He howled, calling out to his pack.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love writing Talia and Derek interactions. Derek Hale needs all the love. Get over Lydia already, Stiles! ;v;
> 
> What's your thoughts on the chapter, comment down below!


	6. Seeming So Farther Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random thing: The feral Alpha victim was so insignificant to the story that I couldn't manage to add the oc in somewhere in the plot. I'd add it a some point in the future if I can but I am not really bothered. Mentioning just in case someone wondering.
> 
> I'm so terrible at keeping my attention on to something which is why it takes so long to update, I'm so sorry for the wait. [Considering getting diagnosed for ADD(ADHD). At least, I won't write about male circumcision instead of romance, hopefully...]

Derek awakened from sleep, encompassed by warmth. _ Plentiful of it. _ Making him a little uncomfortable. He cracked his eyes open in a slight, taking in his surrounding.

Turned out, he was in the pack room plus that heat, was his pack tangled up together on the floor, in a pile of limbs. Laura using his legs as pillow, their twin brothers snug against her. Beside him, his aunt Nora, plastered against him like a koala with Rosalie, Olivia and Cora all cuddled up.

He groaned as he tried moving away from them. It took a whole of five minutes to get free from their grip.  _ Women showed impressive strength at the strangest of moments. _

Stumbling, the young man headed for the kitchen that resided right beside the pack room, divided only with a wide opening on the wall. The smell of food being cooked indicated some of the pack was already up and about.

The sight that welcomed him was of was his dad and Benjamin behind the kitchen counter, working in sync to fix up some breakfast for the pack. There were piles of food in plates containing omelettes, toasts, strips of bacon. There were also several boxes of cereal, of several kinds, jugs of juice and milk. The pack needed an abundance of food, especially so, after the full moon runs.

His mother was still snoring away in one of the chairs around their essentially-large round table, Elena in front of the coffee machine, helping out.  _ Thanks to the heavens,  _ Peter was nowhere in sight.

The two men threw a warm smile at his way, when Derek sat down in one of the kitchen stools. He hummed something incomprehensible in reply, before his uncle's wife put down a mug full of coffee in front of him. Derek mumbled a thank you to her, then quickly grabbed the mug.

“Rough night, son?”, his father inquired with a sympathetic smile on his face. Derek only nodded before taking a long sip from the coffee. Scalding hot with no sugar or milk. Perfection.

The previous night had been a tough one indeed. Although, Scott had not accepted Derek as his Alpha nor was he the one who bit the teen, he was still his Alpha. That meant the young wolf could not resist but answer to his call. As a consequence, the boy arrived at the preserve a little while after Derek's call, with the werewolf hunters right on his tail.

However, the first thing Scott did was to strike the Alpha, whilst Derek attempted to protect the boy from the hunters.

After they managed to get away from the hunters, he kept the boy restrained against a tree where he monitored him until the Moon's pull weared off. Derek had to keep himself in check as well. His control wavering as the moon went up higher, his skin itching to shift, to run free, let loose of the instincts that etched at him. He couldn't allow it so, he grounded himself.

It had been almost time for sunrise when Derek had returned home, looking ragged. The adult members of his family preparing to head to sleep while the young ones fast asleep in the pack room, basically each one of them exhausted after spending all night participating in the moon ritual. Derek had heard their linked howls at some point in the night, too busy dealing with Scott to join them himself.

As he stepped on to backyard Laura and Nora basically dragged him to join them on the pack pile. Derek, with how tired he was, didn't put up much of a fight. Drifting off to sleep as soon as he laid down on the fluffy floor mattress.

The screen door, on the pack room that lead to the backyard opened, grabbing Derek's attention. Felix and Sam entered. Father and son both a little breathless, wearing light clothes and jogging shoes, indicating they might have gone for a run.

At that point the rest of the pack rose from sleep, began wandering in to the kitchen, following the smell of food.

Derek thought it wasn't too bad, to surround himself with pack. It felt comforting.

 

**×××**

 

“Stiles.” His dad's voice halted the boy on his tracks. Stiles was in front of the refrigerator, getting out a jug of milk. He turned around, to see the Sheriff sitting at the table with an almost empty plate of lunch.

Stiles’ mom instincts kicked off, in an instant when ut registered  _ what _ his dad had been eating. Sties screeched, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, dad! You should not be eating those! Eat this amount of fat and you'll will let yourself in an early grave in no time!” He snatched away the plate, tossing it aside, on to the counter. “What- Stiles, it was only a piece of lasagna.”

“You had yours yesterday, it was the leftover! I said I'll accept it once a week. You're breaking your promises!”, he screeched once more. The man shrinked at his words a little, then he gathered confidence to speak, “The last time I checked, I was the parent here.”

After one last hard glare, Stiles seated himself on another chair with a sigh. “I guess, twice a week is fine sometimes. But you can't make this a thing!”, the boy warned his father, then continued, “Did you have anything to talk to me about?”

“Ah, right. That's why I called out before it turned against me”, Noah grumbled the last bits under his breath. “I was hoping to catch up with my son today. Is school going good? What trouble have you been up to? Don't think I didn't notice you sneaking out in this morning.”, the man gave him a judging stare.

It was Stiles’ who shrinked this time. Going about it with the same fake confidence his dad had, mere moments ago. “I-it was just Scott. I went to meet Scott!” 

Noah appeared suspicious then. “At ass crack in the morning?”

Stiles stumbled to explain, “Yeah… he-he went on a run! That's right, dad. He's been working real hard to get better at lacrosse. He goes on runs every morning. Today, he called me to pick him up 'cause his asthma began acting up.”

His dad's demeanor changed after hearing that, morphing into worry. Before he could ask any question, Stiles raised a hand to halt him, “He's fine. I made sure he went back safe.”

Noah's mouth formed into a smile, reaching over he ruffled the boy's hair. “I'm glad you are taking care of your friends.”

Stiles smiled as he got up, moving around in the kitchen, in order to make himself a sandwich.  “How’s it going for you? You haven't been home much nowadays, you know.”, he asked. He had been worrying the impact it'll leave on his dad's health plus, it helped to distract the man.

It didn't feel nice to lie to his dad, but he couldn't tell the truth about his best friend turning into a werewolf. He hadn't been able to sleep at all the previous night.

After the darkness cleared up, he couldn't wait any longer and left to find Scott. His first destination was the preserve, where the chance of catching the werewolf would be the most. He was not wrong with his assumption. Stiles picked up the boy from there, dropping him off at his house. Only then, he could go home and catch some sleep, forgoing breakfast and waking up when it was time for lunch.

The Sheriff heaved a sigh. “I'm sorry about that, son. I was just so busy after the animal attack. Some people are still terrified and there's some who don't forget to take advantage of situations like this. I have a feeling if I say any more it'll be too much information. So, I'm going to shut up now.”, finishing the man leaned back on his chair, attempting to relax into it, not quite succeeding.

Maybe Stiles could tell his dad the truth, if his dad knew about them already. But, there was this  _ if _ hanging before him, meaning he had to take a chance.

The boy called out, “Dad...”

“What is it, Stiles?”, his dad put his attention back to him.

“Do you…”, Stiles breathed, “Do you want to spend today watching movies together, maybe?”

Noah, beaming a smile, got up from his seat, “Sure, sounds good to me.”

He couldn't do it. If his dad didn't know, there's no way he'd believe him, thinking it was another one of his pranks. It was better if he didn't know actually. It'd keep him safe from who knows what they might face in the future. Stiles had seen enough supernatural movies to have know how dangerous this kind of life could be. Knowing his father, he'd jump right on to solving them. He'd taken after him, after all. “I'll get the movies ready then.”, the boy smiled back.

 

**×××**

 

_ “Dude. _ Allison's dad is a werewolf hunter!”

Monday after school, Stiles was putting on his Lacrosse gears, with a heavy heart. The practice session is about to start although he'd be on the bench as usual. Scott appeared out of nowhere to whisper yell near his ear, startling the crap out of him.

“Holy shit, man. How are you sure?”, Stiles wheezed, once he got himself together. “I went to apologise to Allison. She agreed to give me another chance, by the way. After that, she left saying her dad came to pick her up. He was there, waiting for her. He shot me with a crossbow last night!”, fear etched on to his words as Scott answered, “What am I going to do now?”

“For now, Lacrosse.”, Stiles replied as he dumped Scott's gears on him.

They went to the field to find Coach had began yelling orders at everybody. The two boys jogged to meet the rest of the team on the field.

It was going decent for a few moments then the Jackson, the douchebag, had to fuck it all up. Then the Coach yelled at Scott, causing the boy to become angry. The two teammates collided with each other, both tumbling to the ground.

Stiles rushed towards Scott when he noticed the boy hunched over, making an effort to control transforming.

“I c-can't… control it.”, the werewolf croaked out once Stiles got near. “It's okay. Let's get you back before someone notices.”, Stiles pacified, ushering the boy back to the boys’ changing room. He thought he saw a glimpse of someone in the woods but he had other important matters at hand.

Scott had fully shifted by the time they returned to the changing room, attacking whomever had been unfortunate enough to present nearby. In this case,  _ like almost every other case _ , it had been Stiles.

This time though, Stiles was prepared. He put some distance as soon as they reached inside. Looking around, he noted the fire extinguisher. He sprinted towards it, using it on the werewolf, right before the boy launched himself at the him.

The extinguisher disoriented Scott enough to return back to human. The boy blinked, seeming confused at first then realisation dawned at him, contouring his face with guilt.

“Well, doesn't it feel  _ wonderful _ , when your best friend tries to kill you... How are you going to play in the game like this?”, breathless, Stiles  demanded.

“Sorry, dude. And I don't know.”, Scott sighed.

“You might need to tell Coach you can't play this Saturday.”, told Stiles.

"But dude, I'm first line!" Scott yells.

Stiles shrugged, "Not anymore."

  
  


Back home, Stiles gathered information on Jackson's condition on Scott's request, finding that the Captain had dislocated his shoulder.  _ Serves him right _ , Stiles thought while he requested for a video chat with Scott.

When the call went through, he greeted his friend with a toy gun, shooting as soon as his face appeared at the screen. He informed the boy on what he found out.

“My mom's taking the day off to come watch me play.”, Scott stated with his eyes downcast.

“Oh.” before Stiles could offer anything else, he noticed a figure against the wall behind Scott. He almost fell from his chair with a yelp, causing Scott to look up at him with confusion.

“Scott, it seems like… there's somebody behind you.”, the human tries to keep his voice calm as he spoke. The werewolf whipped his head back, the figure decided to charge at the same time.

The screen shook and faced the empty window, putting both off the screen. Stiles couldn't see what was happening although, he heard them, clearly.

Scott snarled, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I saw you on the field today.”, And Stiles recognised the voice in an instant, Derek. Then he heard Scott asking, “What do you mean?”

“You know very well what I mean.”, growled Derek, “You shifted on the field! There wasn't many people today. But what if when you shift when there's a game, huh? It's not just going to be hunters after that. It'll be everybody coming after you..”, Derek paused for a moment, “You’ll go to school tomorrow and tell your Coach you won't be playing.”

“You can't just order me ar-”, Scott started his protest, Derek cut him off. “Yes, I can. And if you want to survive, you will not play in the game.”

Finishing his speech, the man went to the window, getting into the screen, allowing Stiles to see the leather clad werewolf. He turned his head at the screen, flashing red eyes at Stiles, before he jumped off the window.

Stiles was left speechless.

  
  


The next day when the two friend met Stiles inquired his friend, “How did it go with Coach? Did you tell him you're not playing?”

Scott sighed, “He refused.”

_ “Refused…?” _ , Stiles seemed confused.

Scott elaborated, “I told him I can't play for  _ reasons _ , and he lectured me in return.”

“So, that means... you're playing.”, Stiles announced.

Scott only nodded. Perking up a moment later, the teen looked behind him. Stiles followed his direction to find Allison approaching them,  _ more like approaching Scott _ .

“Hey.”, the girl greeted with a wave of hand. “Hey.” Scott greeted back. Stiles felt uncomfortable looking at them. They had this sickening sweet love going on. Just by being around them made his tooth ache. Not wanting to be a third wheel, he began retreating.

“I'm coming to watch the game on Saturday. You're playing, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

The last conversation he heard between them before tuning out their voices.

 

**×××**

 

Saturday, the day of the Lacrosse game, Stiles walked through the halls, spotting Lydia standing at one corner. The sight of her cheered him up, feeling brave he went to talk to her.

“Hey, Lydia.”, stopping right in front her, he waved at the girl. Lydia glanced at him, giving a smile before looking away. Stiles didn't feel discouraged, rather attempted to have a conversation with her.

“I've always felt like there's this connection, we have between us. Don't you think?”

He looked at her expecting an answer. Few seconds later, she turned back to him,  _ pulling an earbud out from underneath her hair, _ she questioned in her sweet voice, “Did you say something?”

“Nope. Nothing.”, he tried to play it off cool. The girl gave a brilliant smile, then she strutted away, not sparing another glance at Stiles.  _ That _ deflated him a little.

Turning a corner, he beared the sight of Lydia walking up to Jackson, saying something to the guy all the while giving him a sensual look. Then they began kissing, almost swallowing each other. Stiles teared his gaze away, walking past them fast, with his eyes downcast.

He joined the rest of the team to change into his Lacrosse clothes. Jackson entered the room, shoving him _ , which probably is one of his hobbies _ , making him fall.

“Stay away from other people's girlfriends, Stilinski.”, the asshole spat before turning away to get dressed.

After Coach Finstock finished his speech they all headed to the field. The evening became tiring to him but unfortunately, it only just started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope nobody forgot Felix is human. So is his son. :D  
> Stiles and Derek get some development in their relationship in the next chapter.  
> We are getting farther and farther from the canon stuff by the way.  
> How are you feeling about this so story and my terrible writing so far? I'd love to hear your thoughts. :)  
> Follow my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ItsHimegimi?s=09) for rants about writing or just come yell at me. :3


	7. Taking A Step Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ramble on and on about so many things but I forgot I wanted to mention that I am skimming through the canon scenes I _am_ keeping in the story. I don't want to play out an entire scene from the show. I'm pretty sure most of us have read them _countless_ times in m a n y different fics. It's gonna get boring.  
>  If you find any mistakes DON'T HESITATE to inform me!

“You dreamt of hurting Allison, presumably killing her?”

“Yeah.”

“And then you woke up in the woods?”, Stiles asked for the third time that morning. Scott nodded in confirmation, “Yeah.”

Both boys had been conversing in front of Stiles’ locker whilst he grabbed his stuff for school. Scott arrived at school looking like a murderer is out there to get him.

Apparently, the werewolf himself claimed to be said murderer. The victim; his girlfriend, Allison.

Last night, he had a dream of making out with Allison,  _ which  _ he described _ explicitly. Not that he needed, thank you very much. _ Then his dream, turned into a nightmare in which he murdering the girl. He mentioned the process had been so vivid, he suspected it had been real. Plus, not waking up in his bed but in middle of trees made matters worse. For all he knew, he could have been out all night, killing people in bloodthirst. 

“She hasn't picked any of my calls this morning. You don't think something actually happened to her do you? I d-didn't hurt her or something?, Ttone wavering, Scott said after a while. “Well,”, Stiles started, “We can only know after she comes to school and if she doesn't…”, he shrugged without finishing his sentence.

Scott seemed to start panicking. Leaving Stiles standing behind, as he ran for the school entrance. At a loss, the human stared at his way. The werewolf hadn't gone far, when he halted, before the stairs, seeing something that made him relax his posture.

“Thank goodness!”, then the boy surged forward, disappearing out of Stiles’ sight.

Stiles figured it was most likely Allison and there was nothing to worry about the dream. He headed to catch his first class, without waiting for Scott. Knowing the boy would be too preoccupied to remember anybody else existed other than Allison.

  
  


It was in Chemistry class, when Scott rejoined with him. They took seats right beside each other. Once seated, the werewolf picked up their conversation from earlier. “Why do you think I saw that dream when I didn't actually kill her? How did I even end up in the woods?”, the crooked jaw boy continued with the mulling over.

“I wonder, maybe you went to catch a rabbit or something.", Stiles replied, with an impassive tone. “Why would I do that?”, Scott gave a puzzled look.

Stiles side-eyed his best friend then voiced, “To eat it.”

"Raw?"

"No, you stopped to bake it in a little werewolf oven before feasting.”, the human snarked back. Scott looked grossed out.

Stiles suggested after a beat, “It could be a pack thing. Y'know,  _ werewolves _ and all that crap about being in a pack.”, the boy flailed his arms as he explained.

“But I don't want to join Derek. I don't trust him.”, Scott scowled.

The human huffed, “You might need to.”

“Mr. Stilinski, Mr. McCall.”, their chemistry teacher called out to them, all of a sudden. “Perhaps, you two might do with a little space between you.”

The man gestured for Scott to move to a seat a couple of rows away, then stopped in front of Stiles. “Mr. Stilinski. Detention, after school.”, Mr. Harris expressed in his icy voice. The boy gaped at him in shock, before sinking down on his seat with a sour expression.

  
  


At lunch, the two friends had taken seats in the cafeteria and started eating not long ago when, there were sounds of footsteps and chairs being pulled out.

Stiles peered up from his food only to be baffled, to see  _ Lydia _ settling herself next to Scott. Allison joining them soon after, sitting on his other side. Looking around Stiles noted the rest of Lydia and Jackson's gang were joining them as well. He grinned at Danny seated beside him, who only gave back a  _ look _ , causing the grin slipping off Stiles’ face.

Jackson was the last one to arrive, taking the seat near his girlfriend. Stiles had yet to digest the fact that  _ Lydia Martin _ decided to be on their table, also _ why _ they were eating lunch with them, when Lydia started speaking.

“Congratulations on winning the game, Scott. You did great on the field.”, saying the girl smiled a sweet smile at the boy.

Stiles’ eyes narrowed down on his best friend. He remembered the last game fairly well. Scott fleeing to the changing room because he shifted on the field as Stiles predicted. Being the good friend he was he followed the boy and had to witness his friend kissing his girlfriend. Although afterwards Scott offered him a good news that he was able to make himself shift back to human.

Scott replied, seeming hesitant, “Uhm, thanks?” Stiles internally cursed his best friend. What? Lydia deserved a bit more than that!

“Why is everyone else silent?”, said girl glanced around others. “Let's talk about something fun.”, saying she glanced at Allison, “Do you have anything in mind that we could do on our date tomorrow?”

“Wait, what date?”, Scott inquired, staring at his girlfriend in utter shock. The girl shifted on her seat, seeming uncomfortable. “Uhm, Lydia suggested to go on a double date tomorrow.”

Jackson appeared as displeased the idea of this “double date” as Stiles was feeling. His heart dropped at the thought of Scott having fun without him on top of Lydia on a date with someone else. He shoved some fries in his mouth to keep it shut while he chose to onlook.

The redhead seemed pleased though, examining her nails as she suggested, “How about we go bowling?”

“I would like to have actual competition.”, Jackson, the smug bastard, retorted. Allison challenged the guy straight away. “We will give you competition, right Scott?” She faced her boyfriend.

_ And there goes the dumbass bluffing. _

“Yeah, of course. In fact, I'm a great bowler.”

Stiles facepalmed.

 

“You are a terrible bowler! The  _ worst _ I've ever come across!”, Stiles almost yelled at his friend as both paced down the stairs at school. “I know! I'm such an idiot!”

Stiles rambled on, “You're wasting your chances with Allison like that. She'll stop liking you if you then you'd be like the hot girl's gay best friend. Next thing, you'd be hanging out with Danny. That reminds me, Danny doesn't seem to like me much. What did I do to him? Maybe I'm unattractive to gay guys?”

“What am I gonna do?”, Scott whined, ignoring Stiles as he walked out the school.

“Scott! You didn't answer my question.”, Stiles yelled after him, “Am I attractive to gay guys?”

 

**×××**

 

“You must give him something to trust you. He is scared with all of this. After all, he is only a  _ teenager _ .”

“I don't know, mom. Everytime I go talk to him, it's like I'm making things worse. I don't know how to do this trust building.”

“We have Stiles, remember? That boy, is smart. He understands what is good and what should be done. Let him help you through it.”

This conversation was between Derek and his mother. The two walked through the woods, heading for the clearing they used to train. The afternoon sun did little to light up the path, not that it mattered to their werewolf eyes.

Laura will be there to spar against Derek like she had been since that day. Teaching him techniques she had learned from their mother over the years, passed down from Hale to Hale.

Walking beside his mother Derek thought how grateful he was to have her as support. She was helping him with all about his new status. Constantly giving advices, teaching him how to lead, what is expected of him. He hadn't get a hold of his Alpha instincts yet. They were all over the place, not yet grounded enough. It meant he could tolerate another Alpha's dominance without trying to take over. He still felt somewhat of a Beta under his mother's care. But he wasn't. He had become an Alpha and he knew it was only a matter of time things would change.

When two of them reached the clearing, Derek began to tug at his leather jacket, freeing one arm when he heard the noise. A low buzz growing by the second, from the gravel road. A car. Stiles’, in particular.

“Seems like Stiles is here! I'll go greet him.” Talia's joyous voice could be heard. Derek watched after as she strutted her way back.

Out of nowhere, something heavy fell on top of him knocking him to the ground. “You are so distracted you didn't even feel my presence, little brother.”, Laura taunted, holding him down by the throat. Without much effort, Derek turned them around, grinning down at her.

Snorting at him she rolled on top once more. “Don't you think mom gets a little too excited whenever Stiles is around?”, she wondered. With a puzzled face, Derek answered, “Huh.. yeah, I guess.” “Although she tries to hide it just like a certain younger brother of mine.”, the girl smirked.

“What do you mean?” He narrowed his eyes. Laura laughed, “Nothing.”

After a while of wrestling around, both siblings paused. Footsteps were heading their way, seeming to be of one person.

A minute later, Stiles’ body surged through the treeline. The boy kept his eyes to the ground  _ yet _ he tripped on the branches.

“I guess, we are done for the day. Don't scare him too much.”, smirking at him, she broke in to a walk. As she passed by the human, winking at him when the boy looked up.

Stopping at a fair distance away, the boy opened his mouth.

“Hey, I am back yet again...”

“I can see that.”, Derek snided though, he wasn't annoyed, in particular. “I had something to talk to you about.”, the human spoke after a moment's hesitation.

“About Scott?”

Stiles seemed surprised when he looked up and  answered, “Yeah… actually, _ Scott _ should be the one doing the talking but he has his head up in his ass, saying stuff like he doesn't trust you and doesn't won't come to you for help.”

“He is not wrong though.”, Derek began walking for the house. Crunch of footsteps told him the boy was following.

“I know, but how do you think it is going to improve if nobody is willing to take the first step.”

That had him pause to scan the boy who after a long moment began fidgeting  “What?”, Stiles asked, clearly uncomfortable to become the center of attention.

He tore his gaze  away then began his walk back once more  “My mother told me the something similar.”, he informed the boy while moving past trees.

“Well, your mother does seem like a wise person to me.”

Derek huffed.

“Whoa!” he heard Stiles yelp then rustling of leaves and a thud. On alert, Derek whirled on his feet to find the boy on the ground. He was already pushing himself up and Derek sighed.

“I’m fine. Totally fine. Tripping in the woods. No big deal. It's like when someone tries to skate on ice and loses balance. Nothing serious. I mean, it is serious if you fall hard enough.”, Stiles babbled away a mile a minute.

Then he glanced up at Derek and did the zipping motion with his hands in front of his lips. Even though he did not shut up, “Your face says you have no idea what I'm talking about. Me neither, actually. By the way, did you ever go ice skating?”

Derek chose to ignore the boy, continued his walk back. He had serious suspicion the boy fell and hit his head, ending up with a concussion. Which explained the ridiculous talking. 

Stiles voice could be heard, “I am gonna take that as a no.” He still didn't reply since it was true. He never went to ice skating. As outgoing as he was before the fire, he didn't have actual friends to hang out with. Stiles didn't need to know that.

“Seriously?! Wow, you're like missing out on some quality fun.”, the boy exclaimed from behind.

He went silent for the rest of their way. When they reached the house, Stiles halted abruptly then announced, “I know.”

_ God, such a mouthy person! _ Derek thought, turning his head to look at the boy, quirking an eyebrow.

Stiles gripped his arm, tugging at him towards the Jeep, “Come on. You must acquire knowledge of the glee that is ice skating. I know there is a ice rink in town. We're going there.”

“What?”, Derek halted in his tracks, Stiles jerking to a stop from the force. The wolf could hear the human’s heartbeat rising higher, the stench of worry releasing from his body. The boy faced him in slow motion, his face pale. “Ah.. I'm- I'm sorry. I.. I wasn't really thinking when I s-said that.”

Derek looked down at their connected hands and the boy let of it in high-speed. “I'm taking my hand off.”

After that, Derek stepped into his personal space, standing almost chest to chest. A hand went up, running over his head. Stiles experienced a whole body shiver at that, breath hitching.

“It's fine.”, Derek spoke after a while, removing his hand but not completely stepping away.

Stiles choked out a response, in a broken voice, “What?”

“Your proposal.”

“Whu?”, the boy still appeared dazed.

Derek sighed before explaining, “I don't mind going to the ice rink.”

Stiles’ eyes turned into saucers as he gaped at him. They just stood like that for a few beats. “Okay. Uh… alright. Shit, I forgot. We might not be able to actually get there before it closes.”, Stiles deflated. Derek hesitated for a second before opening his mouth, “We can go another time.”

“Tomorrow?”, the boy eagerly asked.

“Sounds good.”

Derek had no clue why he agreed to this, but the way Stiles’ face lit up after he did, he concluded it wasn't such a bad idea per se.

Stiles stretched out his hand, a phone in his palm, “Put in your number here.”, the boy demanded.

That raised an eyebrow from Derek but he didn't say anything and simply thumbed in the numbers before handing the phone back. If their hands lingered for a touch longer then they didn't speak of it.

“I'll send you the place and time later.”, Stiles backed away with a grin then turning to hop inside the Jeep. Before he drove off he paused to question Derek.

“Wait, why did you do that?”

“Did what?”, he knitted his brows together in confusion..

The boy rotated his finger, pointing at his head, “The thing with your hand.”

Derek chuckled then before answering, “I was checking for any concussions.”

“My head didn't even hit the ground!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot is ridiculous but wanted it to be stupid. Now... I wouldn't have it any other way.  
> Also has anybody noticed how terrible I am at keeping a POV? They just change without my notice. I have given up at this point. Hope it's not confusing though. :')  
> (I randomly go _kiss! kiss! kiss!_ in my head as I write but I can't let them kiss out of nowhere I have _plans_ for their first kiss. T_T)  
>  Next chapter would cover the d a t e. And a bit of drama. Hope to update soon!


	8. Warm Fuzzy Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Derek go ice skating! There's drama at the beginning and end. With dear friend Cliffy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapt with endless rambling. Please READ the END NOTES, at least.  
> First of all, there's like tonnes of excuses for disappearing. But all ends up telling I have such bad attention span it's not even funny. Plus there is this one constant person who annoys the life out of me. I think many people can relate. Cause s i b l i n g s. Mine does a great job distracting me whenever I'm trying to do anything. :<  
> Then I wasn't even home for like two days.  
> And I hope there's actual sarcasm in this fic. Or should I remove the tag. I don't catch my own sarcasm plus I have no clue how it looks on other people's perspective.  
> 

“Nice ride.” The voice made him look up from where he was staring at the ground. It was an _attempt_ , on ignoring them, a lost one nonetheless, when he knew about their presence as soon as two cars began landing off the road, entering the filling station. They enclosed in on both sides of his car, then the doors opened, three people got off. Hunters, werewolf hunters.

Deciding to fill up the tank to prepare for the day after _with_ _Stiles_ , Derek was _coincidentally_ present on the filling station. This late at night, not many people were around. Perfect opportunity for a bunch of hunters to gang up on him. Hah, _coincidence._

One of them holding a huge metal wrench in his hand, the only visible weapon although, it wasn't enough to fool him. He was certain there's other, more deadly ones hidden somewhere, ready to bring them out any moment.

Derek settled with playing it cool. Otherwise, it'll bring more trouble, if he were to lost his temper then lashed on to them.

Thinking so, Derek dislodged the nozzle connected to his car, to put it back in its place on the dispenser. He didn't bother responding with anything, and continued to stare him dead in the eye, as Chris _Argent_ trudged closer. The man rubbed a finger on the bonnet of his car as he continued his talking, more like insinuating threats. “Black car though, _tough_ to keep them clean. You have something this nice, you want to take care of it, right? I'd suggest to be extra careful with the dealing. Otherwise, things tend to happen to them. _That_ ,” the man took a pause, “I learned from the ones I love. Now, we don't want the same for you, do we?”

It took _effort_ to not throw the man across the street. Threatening his family on top, he did _not_ enjoy when other people touched what was his!

But what for? Is he suspecting Derek was the Alpha who went on a fucking killing spree? But they should know him as the Hales’ Beta son, from their Werewolf Portfolio. Then again, he was one of the werewolf hunters. They had eyes everywhere. Probably know the whole “rogue Alpha take down” incident by now and thought it'd be a great idea to threaten him to keep him in check.

It was all too confusing when he couldn't be sure of how much the hunters knew. But they were already returning to their cars. Then who knows what came over him, which was happening pretty often these days, Derek thought it'd be wise to challenge them.

“You forgot to check the oil.” Derek called out to the retreating hunters, stopping them in their track. They turned back to him, Argent giving him a raised eyebrow, soon replaced with a knowing grin. He gestured to one of his companions, ordering him.  “Check the man's oil.”

The one parading his weapon came forth, halting near the car. The man picked up his pipe wrench, smashing a window, with success. After that, he held his hand in a thumbs up, then went back, not before sending a sick grin towards Derek. “Drive safe.” Ending the conversation they got back in their cars, leaving him alone.

Well, seemed like he would have to take a walk all the way to the town the next day.

 

**×××**

 

Stiles was bordering on hysteria with the trembling. Because he had finally reached the extent of his idiocy. Who even had the dare to ask _Derek Hale_ to hang out with them!? That guy legit looked like a serial killer. Or a crime suspect, in the least.

Most surprising was, that Derek actually agreed to meet up with him, instead of downright murdering him there. _Who woulda thought!_ Stiles even got his cellphone number which he put to use that very night, sending him the location and when he'll be there. In case, he forgot the next day and make the man wait. Derek will surely murder him then.

After that, he had texted Derek once more, when school ended and he had just arrived home; spending some time to look as presentable as he could manage. That was half an hour ago. Now he stood in front of the place, waiting for Derek while rethinking his choices and freaking out.

He had his head downcast, fidgeting with the chain of his when Derek appeared, right behind him, spooking him shitless.

“I hope I'm not too late.”

“Whoa!” Dude, what are you? Give some warning first!” Derek only shrugged. There was a hint of something, maybe a smirk, but Stiles figured it was only his imagination playing tricks. “Well, not too late if we go by that you walked here all the way from the woods.” Ever the sarcastic. He worried for a second, if Derek would kill him someday, once he goes too far.

“I did.”

“What?”

“I did walk my way here.” Stiles’ eyes went wide at that. He blinked, then tentatively asked, “What happened to your car?”

“It… is in repair. Come on, let's get in. They won't wait for us 24/7.” Derek didn't even wait a second before marching off to head inside. Stiles scrambled after him.

They got in. Stiles recognized one of his classmates. Boyd, who apparently worked there. The teen gave him a blank stare which, is pretty normal since he has never seen him being much social. He still sent a greeting which was neglected but earned an skeptic look from Derek.

Turned out, Derek could skate pretty decent. No stumbling face first on the ice although, he did appear a bit rigid with tension. Werewolf reflexes, he guessed. Stiles let him get the hang of it by himself, while he skated in a nearby distance. It didn't feel much awkward thanks to other people around them.

He hadn't realised how farther he ventured off until he swiveled in order to return. He noticed from afar, a few girls gathered closer to Derek, eyeing the man in obvious way. Stiles rolled his eyes at the scene, speeding up to reach the werewolf faster. Once near Derek himself directed his gaze at him.

“Seems like someone is enjoying themselves,” Stiles smiled at the man then shut up, realising how dirty it sounds. Derek didn't commented on it though, that was a relief. Instead he offered a snarky reply, “Well, had to. Someone left me to have fun by myself after inviting me.”

A snort, then Stiles pulled on Derek's wrist. “Come on, then Big guy. Let's see how well you can match me.” The words complimented with a broad grin was all it took to rile up the man. Stiles dragged him through the ice, guiding him away from the leering girls.

They circled each other on the eyes, not having deciding how to advance. Then Stiles paused, moved a little closer, raising his hands with fingers spread wide. Any of Derek's tension left him, taking the invitation. Linking their fingers as he stepped closer, too. There was that spark of electricity again from their skin-on-skin contact. It spread through his body making it tingle with something.

Stiles giggled, _like a freaking girl,_ as Derek pulled him in a spin, quickly biting on his lips to anymore of that embarrassing sound from leaving his mouth.

It all felt so nice, his heart warmed up. Stiles barely remembered there were other people surrounding him. He didn't notice he had a goofy smile on until it dropped at Derek's words.

“I thought you'd bring Scott with you.”

Stiles teared his eyes away from the man, tried to not sound too disappointed when he answered, “Sorry, did you want him to be here?”

“No, not really. I don't ever want him to be anywhere near, if possible.” Stiles chuckled at that, Derek squeezing their linked hands at the sound. “It's just isn't he always with you that I assumed.”

“Yeah… he usually is. He is with Allison now, _not that he wasn't the entire day._ He's got a group date,” he explained bitterly. He wished for a moment Scott would suck balls at the bowling but he wasn't serious about it. After all, he was awesome and thought. Wouldn't want his best friend to lose the girl he liked over some jealousy that he couldn't be with Lydia, too.

Then there was Derek, tugging at him, beckoning to move. A few moments passed with the two of them skated side by side. Stiles rambling about most random stuff then deciding to take off ahead of Derek in a challenge, out of nowhere.

The man chased after him, catching up almost immediately and he wasn't sure it was his werewolf agility or Derek, in general. He didn't have any time to analyse more because he tripped himself, _on smooth ice._

Before he could fall Derek was beside him, holding him upright. “Are you hurt?”

“N-no. I'm fine. Just your regular Klutz Stiles.”, he answered, rubbing his hand in his nape.

“I think, it's a sign to leave.”

“Yeah, sure. They'll close off soon anyway,” Stiles couldn't help the disappointment that time. Although his muscles were starting to ache, he wanted to stay a little longer. It's been a while since he had this much fun.

 

“How are you going to go back?” Derek asked when he joined Stiles outside after returning their skating shoes.

“Brought my Jeep. It's in a parking lot a few blocks away. You could take a lift if you want. In that way, you won't have to walk back the whole way. We're going it the same direction, too,” Stiles rattled off in one breath.

Derek seemed to think for a beat then exhaled loud, through his nose. “Lead the way.” Stiles grinned.

They walked beside each other on the pavement in a surprisingly comfortable silence. It was early evening, people still milling about the road. Containing all the entertainment venues, it was one of the busy areas of the town.

“Stiles!”

He was a bit absent, relishing in the moment of silence when he was brought back to Earth by a voice. He certainly knew who it was so he glanced around till he found him.

Scott was at the front of a bowling place, a shocked, sort of betrayed expression on his face. Stiles did a double checking in his mind, for something he did to be guilty about. Nothing seemed to appear. He walked up to his friend waving with a grin that he had some difficulties to keep. The others were there as well. “Hey, Scotty. It's good to see you again.”

Scott didn't bother, instead questioned in an accusing tone, “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I thought this was a free country and people could be anywhere they wanted to be,” deadpanned Stiles. _Was he not allowed have fun outside of home or something?_

“I didn't mean it that way-”

“I _know_ ,” Stiles out a hand up to halt the boy, “Just out about with Derek over there, spending some good time like-”

“Like a date?” Lydia interrupted, her eyes curious as she examined him, as though a test subject. Stiles could only squawk at her. It had not occurred to him even once this… this hanging out could be taken in such way. _It was nothing but just some platonic bonding!_

He was still sputtering with no grace, glancing from face to face. Allison appeared to be peering at Derek from her phone, completely suspicious of the man. But so did the rest of the three. He didn't blame them though.

Derek, on the other hand, seemed immune to whatever was happening, his face blank, not even sparing a glance towards the group of teens. A second later the man tensed up in front of his eyes. Back going taut, sniffing the air, eyes frantic as they searched something.

He yanked Stiles closer, by his arm, mumbling in his ears, “I have to go.” Then he let go, backing away from the group, walking so fast, he was almost running.

Stiles stared at the retreating figure in a shocked state. “Is everything alright?”, Allison's concerned voice helped him get out of the shock. “I’m sorry if it's because of us.”

“No, no, it's fine. I- I just have to go after him.” He was running before he even finished the sentence. He had to put all his strength to sprint otherwise, he was never going to catch up or worse, lose sight of him. He didn't only because, the sound of footsteps loud in the empty streets. He followed the sound blindly, breathing coming hard.

They had slipped into the quiet part of the city. It was like a border, barely anybody crossed. The industrial area.

All it had was rows and rows of warehouse. He yelled as something grabbed him into one of the corners. “Shh. What are you doing? I didn't ask you to follow.”, Derek gritted out. His palm was pressed hard on top of Stiles’, mouth. He panted for breath while stuck between a wall and Derek. The werewolf released his grip on him. “Stay here,” he ordered before jumping on to the roof of the warehouse. Stiles peeked from the corner, to see Derek run through the roofs one by one. He was a few houses away, parallel enough for Stiles to keep an eye on him. Then he heard a car engine come closer, it stopped somewhere. Stiles went cold when there was a gunshot and Derek dropped from where he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realise but the image of Derek and ice skating seems adorable. It gave me butterflies. ;v;  
> PLEASE READ: I forgot to talk about this before, it kind of slipped my mind. I'm sorry, if anybody detests the concept of urine-marking (scent marking things with urine).  
> Cause this fic will have some in the future. They are werewolves...! It only makes sense to me they'd mark things as theirs, in such way.  
> I'll try to keep it mild though. Like, no v i v i d description since I guess, some people get rather uncomfortable.  
> All of you are so supportive. Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments you all send my way. I cringe nowadays thinking I use "i appreciate" a lot but I can't do anything about it since that's how I feel. ;^;  
> (Ugh I ramble a lot)  
> Edit: apparently I posted this chapter about but it somehow ended up being saved as draft. That's what happens when you talk too much, kids. You don't pay attention to details and hit the wrong button.


	9. Powerless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly Stiles freaking out cause Derek is dying. Spoiler: He isn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Planning to update yesterday but I got engrossed in reading fics ~~and crying rivers cause _angst_~~. I'm trying to be dutiful about the updates though. _Trying._  
>  A bit ~~full~~ of drama in this chapter.
> 
> I'm really tempted to sprout a few more siblings for Derek out of nowhere but he already has plenty. :(

Stiles could only stare wide eyes, too shocked and horrified by the scene to even move. Then, he heard voices, talking to each other, in a hushed tone. He wished there was a way to know what they were saying, but they were too far away, out of his hearing range.

After a few moments, they were gone, the low buzzing of cars getting farther. Stiles slipped out of the shadows Derek hid him, running to where he guessed said man fell.

When he got to him, he found the man struggling to sit up against the warehouse wall. His eyes screwed shut, right hand pressed hard against his left bicep. Nothing but a high-pitched squeak left his mouth at the scene. Stiles took hurried steps towards him. Before he reached, Derek’s body slumped right before his eyes, unmoving, on the concrete ground.

“Oh my God,  _ Derek _ ?” No answer came from the werewolf, which, of course, resulted in Stiles freaking out. He covered the rest of the distance in a run, dropping down on his knees beside the man, he shook the werewolf in hopes of the man regaining consciousness. “Come on, wake up!”

It became futile.

He then got an idea, but it was a scary one. He decided to roll with either way. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself. With as much force as he could gather, he slapped Derek in the face. Hopefully, he would not murder Stiles for that. It did the trick, at least. Derek blinked his eyes open.

“What happened here?”

Both Derek and he whipped their head to the direction from where the voice came. It was Scott.

“About to perform in a circus, buddy!” Stiles snarked. It was a emergency situation! As much as he liked Scott, he did not need his stupidity at that moment! Then, he faced Derek once more and yelled in an instant, “Hey, don't fall asleep again! I will leave you to rot alone if you do!”

Derek sent him a glare, beginning to pull up his sleeve, revealing a bullet hole. The most horrible bullet wound Stiles had ever seen, it glowed with a blue-ish purple hue. “Why isn't it healing healing?”

“Wolfsbane.” Derek grunted out. Without explaining further, he attempted to rise off the ground.  _ Fuck! _

Scott stood there with his confused expression on. “What's that?” Stiles glanced back at his friend, sighing at the teen. “How are you going manage without me, Scotty.” Then moved forward to help Derek up.

“Shouldn't you be on your date? You didn't just abandon her again, did you?”, Stiles questioned his friend once he supported Derek, aiming to bring them out of this place.

“Uhm, we were already leaving when you saw us. We split up after that. So, I thought I'd go after you.” Acceptable, though he should have went home with her, Stiles thought to himself. “How did you find us?”

“I was trailing your scent..? I saw them on my way.. nearly fell in front of Allison's dad with my bike. When they left and I heard footsteps running, it was echoing everywhere. So it took more time to find and follow you here.”

“God, he was the one who shot him?”, Stiles tipped his head towards Derek. The man seemed to be barely aware of anything. Since he was out of it, Stiles decided to take matters on his hands. Asking for more details, he knew they would need in the future.

“No. He was trailing after someone else. It was a woman... I heard them talking. He was saying that they need to get to the Beta. They can't, if she kills the Alpha,” Scott paused, “She mentioned it won't kill him, yet. He has 48 hours time.”

A chill ran down Stiles’ spine.  Wolfsbane, one of the very few things that work against werewolves. Once it reaches the heart, death is certain. “Did you hear anything else? Who was she?”

“He called her Victoria.”

 

**×××**

 

The Jeep didn't even stop properly before Stiles was jumping down to the gravel path, sprinting towards the looming Hale house.

He skidded to a pause from surprise, when he noticed someone appearing at the front porch.

“David!”

In reply, the boy refuted. “It's Conan. Why do you stink of-” 

“Well, I don't care which one is it!”, he cut the boy off, “Can you inform your parents, your brother is dying. I mean, he's gravely injured.” Stiles felt a little bad, at the horror that crossed Conan's face. The younger teen craned his neck sideways, looking at something beyond Stiles. He followed his sightline to find Derek stumbling out of the Jeep, staggering in the direction of the house. He looked wrecked, skin shining with sweat. It appeared to him, he was trying hard to not faint again. It had been under an hour since the man was shot, He probably smelled like death, too.

Conan ran off inside whilst Stiles walked towards Derek, catching the man right before he lost balance. “God, you're heavy.”, Stiles huffed out, having to drag the body unto the house. Derek nothing but grunted in reply.

In the meantime they managed to get past the threshold, the Hales had began gathering in the living room.

“Stiles. Thank you for bringing Derek back here.”, Talia patted his shoulder while a man with a face full of beard and grey eyes, eased Derek off him. Stiles had met the man before, though he had yet to learn the name. In response, he gave an anxious nod.

The man set Derek down on to the couch with care, who was mumbling something Stiles could not decipher; judging by the faces of the rest present.  _ Damn, werewolf hearing. _

The family rounded on Derek, he also took a few unsure steps in their direction. It felt almost like intrusion.

“H-how do we cure him from the Wolfsbane poisoning?”, Stiles blurted out when, the somber situation got on his nerves.

“The poison itself can be used for cure,” Another he-had-yet-learn-the-name Hale answered his question. “There are several kinds of the plant. We keep all of the kinds in stock, for times like this. But first, we will need to know which one was used in bullet. Otherwise we have no way of treating him.”

The slight relief that came over Stiles at the latter words, dispersed in a second. “How are  _ we _ going to find it?” The man raised one eyebrow at the question. 

“We'll need another bullet of the same kind.”

 

Stiles went back home, he had been trembling the entire way. A lump had formed in his throat while his stomach felt weightless.

After he flopped down to his bed, is when he realised he had been talking to them in a way, implying he was a part of  _ them _ . Mixing himself  _ with them _ , on saving Derek's life.

It came as such a shock, he forgot to be even embarrassed about it. The thoughts soon went from there to Derek, to their da- no it was  _ not _ a date. Lydia was wrong about the interpretation of it. Although it hurt his soul to agree that, Lydia Martin could ever be wrong. They were merely hanging out like… bros.  _ Right? _

It took him longer than usual to sleep that night.

 

**×××**

 

The next day, he had been jittery with anxiety all throughout the morning. Sent a bunch of texts on Derek's number in between classes, hoping they had managed to get the poison out of him and he'd reply. Not that he ever did the other handful of times he had texted the man. But he  _ hoped _ he would, since it was clear Stiles was worried.

Scott had been nice enough about him to ask once 

Before lunch, he finally gave up and went to find Cora at school.

When he caught her in one of the hallways, she was the one to speak up first. “Where’s  Scott?”

“Scott? He's somewhere… wherever Allison is.” He hadn't been paying attention to the boy, much at all. Too distracted waiting for Derek to reach out, reassuring that he was alright. He felt guilty now. Scott had been nice enough to ask about Derek's condition, then kept glancing at him all dày, noticing how anxious he had been.

“Let's go, find him,” he sighed after a while. Though he did not need to say it aloud, Cora was already walking ahead of him. “Wait, Cora!” Calling out to the girl, Stiles followed at full tilt.

“I was actually trying to find you, as well. D-d- How's Derek?” He stuttered out the question as soon as he caught up to her. Her breath hitched a little, his stomach dropping to the pitch bottom at that. “You could not manage to get another bullet, did you?” Stiles spoke, the words spilled out slow, through his heavy tongue. Cora did not reply as they walked through the halls, only shook her head fiercely.

They found Scott at the bottom of a random staircase, talking goofily with Allison.  _ Of course. _

“Hey, Stiles.” The girl gave him a bright smile, then her gaze fell on Cora, seeming curious. But Cora had this expression that suspiciously like a certain someone he knew, with a always-brooding face.

But he was there to save the day!

“This is Cora. Cora Hale.”, extending his arms like he was presenting something, he introduced her with a dazzling fake smile. The girl only rolled her eyes. “Hello, Cora.” Allison, an angel, greeted the girl anyway, then faced Scott, “I'll meet you after school, later.”

Cora waited till she made sure Allison was well out of their hearing range before turning to Scott. “If you didn't figure out already, I'm Derek's younger sister. And I think you might be of a little help.”

There was this look in Scott that told he had no clue where she waa going with this. Well, Stiles had a little idea. He didn't have to wait long till she explained. “You need to find a bullet for Derek. A special kind of wolfsbane bullet. It's in the Argent residence. Since you know the Argent girl, you are the only one we could ask for help.”

For a while, Scott digested the words, the expression of pure perplexity still on. Then he slowly dragged out a response, “What happens.. if I... refuse?”

“Derek dies.” Though her face still showed no emotion, the slight waver in her voice spoke lengths.

“Well, good for you. Allison invited me to her house after school, just a little before you came,”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Stiles put his hands up in a motion to stop them, focusing on the girl, ‘How are you guys so sure that it is in the Argent house? Chris Argent was there, sure, but it was a woman named Victoria who shot Derek.”

“Derek told us what he heard from Scott last nig-” “Whoa, sneaky! I thought dude was barely hanging on to dear life.”, Stiles butted in, shutting up as soon as the girl levelled him with a glare. Not as deadly as her brother usually sends his way, but close enough. “Victoria Argent.” Cora continued, as a matter of fact. “She is Chris Argent's wife.”

And Stiles’ heart jumped up to his throat, he choked on his own spit. “Why does Allison's mother want to find him?!” he pointed to Scott, who also appeared pale.

“We never had a good relationship with Argents. They despise anyone related to the Hales, as a fundamental rule.”

“Oh God, you're so going to die when they find out you're a werewolf.” Stiles panicked for his best friend, include all the arm flailing glory.

 

**×××**

 

The ending bell had not finished ringing yet, Stiles is out of class, marching for the school entrance. He slowed down when he thought he should remind Scott, in case he forgot, daydreaming of Allison. 

So, he waited by the gate as a plethora of highschool kids swarmed past him. At one point, he spotted Scott, coming out of the classroom with Allison on his tail.  _ Literally _ . He snorted.

When the two lovebirds got closer, he stopped his best friend by the arms, raising his palm apologetically for Allison, to tell her to wait five minutes.

“Dude, do you remember what you need to do once you get there?” Stiles questioned with urgency.

The crooked jaw boy had his utterly confused expression on on more. “Study session with Allison?”,

Stiles tried not to roll his eyes, levelling Scott with a disappointed look instead. The boy in question looked sheepish. “Uhm, I don't know man. Are you telling me to not forget condoms?”

_ Seriously _ .

He rolled his eyes hard enough that it hurt. He rubbed fingers over the closed eyes, as reminded his dumb friend. “You need to get the bullet for Derek.”

“Ohh, yeah right. I don't know even know what it looks like.”, the boy whined in despair.

Stiles sighed. “Just look for something special. Like a unique pattern or a shape. It has to look different than regular bullets. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“G'luck, dude.” he spoke to Scott's back as he went for Allison.”

 

Stiles headed for his Jeep in the parking lot, right after that. Feeling the urgent need to get himself back to the Hale house. The always present pull that tugged him towards Derek, seemed to be high wiring that day. He had no idea what to make of it.

He paused, noticing a familiar reddish car beside his baby. Next, his heart nearly leapt out of his throat twice that day, when he recognized the man stepping out from behind it.

He  _ hoped _ he wasn't showing the terror on his face. But even he hear knew it was a lost cause. He definitely heard a pathetic squeak escape his own mouth.

“I'm sorry, if I scared you.” Chris Argent spoke, closing the distance between them with big strides. “I'm just waiting for my daughter.”

Stiles managed to force a laugh out of himself. “It's fine. You just caught me off guard.” He waved his hand in the air, hoping to dismiss the conversation sooner. It seemed to be not in his luck that day.

“Wait. I have seen you with her before. You know, Allison?”, the man dragged on the conversation.

“Ah, ye-yeah. I'm friends with her,” he stated. Then he observed as Chris Argent brought one hand from his pocket, extending in an invitation, smiling at him, in a totally not creepy way, “Chris Argent.” Stiles only took it out of politeness. “Stiles Stilinski.”

The man brought out his other hand and also placed it on top. Then shook it almost ripping his arm off.

As he removed his hand, Stiles noted something cold against it. The man gave him something.

He clenched around it to not reveal it to somebody who might walking by. Mr. Argent was already backing away to his car, leaving only a “Stay safe.”

It almost felt like a warning.

Stiles managed to open his palm to see what it is after the car went up to the street with Allison in it, as well. When he saw what it is, he basically threw himself inside his Jeep. Intended to head towards the Hale house.

It was a golden bullet with special patterns engraved in it.

 

**×××**

 

“I got the bullet!”

He yelled to nobody, standing in front of the black double door.

A second later, it was parting to the inside, revealing a woman with bright red hair and light eyes. She reminded him of Cora in some ways.

The woman stepped aside and he rushed in the house. “He is upstairs. Follow me.”

In a blink, she was near the spiral stair, stomping up; Stiles scrambled to follow. She didn't pause until the second floor landing, they shuffled down the hall until the end, stopping in front of a room.

The woman knocked softly on the door, before opening, gesturing for Stiles to get inside.

He nervously slipped in and was faced the entire family scattered around the room.

He guessed that was Derek's since why would he be put so high up here while he was basically dying. Glancing around, the room appeared barely lived in. Everything was too neat, except the bed, where Derek was.

In an instinct, Stiles took a few steps forward to the bed, bringing out the bullet and holding it up. Someone took it from his hand and people were moving around but all he could focus on was Derek. If he looked wrecked the previous night, he looked dead now. Breathing heavy, eyes unfocused but staring at his mother, who sat beside him at the edge of the bed, her back pressed against the headboard. She didn't look scary at that moment, rather weary and powerless, at her son's death bed. Now a little hopeful, as she raked her fingers through Derek's hair, whispering reassurance to him.

All of a sudden, the man sat up, hovering off the bed. “Oh God.” Stiles winced, taking his eyes away, but not before witnessing Derek throw up black substance.

“Where is the bullet, Felix?”, Sebastian questioned in a barely kept calm voice.

“Sorry, there is nothing to lit it up with, in his room.”, the latter of the two unnamed Hale from the previous night rushed back to the room as he answered.

Stiles couldn't look away this time and watched in horror as the man burned out the powdery wolfsbane, then pressed it straight on to the wound. Derek screamed and thrashed around in his mother's hold. Stiles’ horror soon became awe as he watched the wound heal right before his eyes. Afterwards, Derek slumped back on the bed, panting like he raced a mile.

Talia Hale removed herself from the bed, composing herself as she strode towards him “Stiles. Thank you once again. I'm forever indebted to you.” and then he was encircled in a soul crushing hug, that knocked the breath out of him.

He stated, once she let him go, “I didn't do anything. Really.”

Talia was about to protest but he cut her off, “No, like really  _ really _ . Mr. Argent came to talk to me then he handed over the bullet without any explanation.”

“Did he say anything that could imply something else?” Talia scrunched up her brows together, in thoughtfulness.

“No, his aura sort of felt like threatening to me though.”

Stiles’ jaw dropped at the comment Sebastian made after hearing that and the nods that followed, mostly by the adults.

“He suspects you are the Beta.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think it'd get this emotional at the end. I guess I didn't take it into account that a mother had to watch her child almost die until I was writing it. I nearly cried writing. ;-;
> 
> We almost reached the end of the initial build up. It's either next chapter or a couple more chapters. Depends on how I find the chapter to end in a good way.
> 
> What are your thoughts on the chapter. Comment down below!
> 
> I feel like this fic lacks more tags, but I have no clue what to add. They are all also added in random order.


	10. The Talk™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, hi! Happy New Year to you all lovelies. I'm back with a new update. This is not the full chapter since I keep getting blocks writing this but I just wanted to update for the new years.

The harsh sound of a knock, followed by the door opening had him peering up from the journal he had been reading. In the middle of the open door, stood his mother, a tray of food, _lots of 'em,_ balanced atop her hand.

“Mom, come on in,” Derek called out, his voice raspy from being unused for longer than usual. “You guys need to stop fussing over a single bullet wound.”

“You don't get a say in this. You didn't even get downstairs for breakfast,” Laura commented; following Talia right behind in.

The younger male retorted right back at her. “Pretty sure if I were to take even two steps out of this room, at least two people would have come running to send me back to lie down.” _Which had happened once, by then._

Although he did not _see_ Laura until she spoke, he had been aware of her presence all along. He could even tell the knock was from her, presuming, she stepped aside for Talia, her Alpha, to get through first.

“Don't blame them.” His mother shook her head in amusement, at the same time replacing the journal on his lap with the tray. “They are just worried about you. As unfortunate as it was, the event really put the pack on edge,” the woman stated. After her fingers combed through his hair and he leaned in, relaxing under the touch.

“I know, mom. I'm sorry.”, the male gruffed out.

Talia lifted one curious eyebrow where there was a fond roll eye from Laura like she knew what he was going through his mind. Which, of course, she knew. His elder sister knew him well. Often a little too well for his liking.

Derek stared as she single-handedly picked up the only, very uncomfortable looking chair, from the corner of the room. After placing it beside the bed for her mother to sit, she spoke, “I'm sure you had your reasons for jumping in front of hunters’ eyesight like an idiot, dear brother.”

“How do you know about that?” Derek questioned in alarm, cheeks burning a little. He had not told his family anything but what was necessary.

“Stiles,” Laura answered with a grin. “Last night, he had been mumbling something about _stupid werewolves and their stupid antics._ Although, I'd say he was just relieved you got better,” she winked. It was Derek’s turn to roll his eyes.

Their mother had this small amused smile on her face at the siblings’ banter. Before her, the son flushed even harder. He decided to busy himself with the food which was disappearing fast from the tray. He needed to catch up with food for the time he lost; spent knocking at death's door.

He shifted his gaze after noting a movement from the corner of his eyes. Taking in the room, he found Laura leaving, the door clicking shut behind her.

“So, Stiles.” Talia's voice switched his attention to his mother. He cocked his neck to one side. The woman stated, “I asked him to put some distance... between him and our family,” she took a pause, “I thought it is better for the sake of his own safety.”

At that, Derek did not answer with anything, as he went very still. He howled in his mind at the thought of having to be away from the human. He understood the importance of it. He knew from his first-hand experience, the Argents showed no mercy to anybody associating with the supernatural. Especially werewolves.

Nonetheless, what with his instincts brewing up a tornado for the boy, the idea did not entertain him one bit. He would not admit it even to himself, let alone out loud, deep down he had already realised what the boy meant to him.

The wolf in him had chosen Stiles as his mate.

And that was exactly what fueled his actions from the other night. Because of his enhanced senses, he had been able to detect the smell of wolfsbane and gunpowder in the air. He didn't want the Argents to find the human with a wolf, so he opted on fleeing, to put some distance between him and Stiles. The Alpha could only wonder why the boy followed him, downing water to his plan.

In the end, he used himself as a distraction for the hunters. Even he himself knew how stupid it sounded since Derek was their initial prey. But, he didn't have time to think things through.

He had to protect his mate somehow.

Talia observed her son with attentive eyes before continuing, bringing Derek out of his reverie in the process. He picked up the glass of juice, moving the tray of now empty plates to the nightstand. “Only for the time being. He's a good-hearted kid, also quite smart. I don't want anything happening to him because he decided to believe in us. It would be a regret if the hunters were to hurt him.”

“You trust him,” Derek spoke in revelation while staring down at the glass in hand; swirling the liquid around.

“I do. I thought it was clear.”

He felt like an idiot for not realising that sooner even though it was pretty obvious. An Alpha like her did not welcome someone like that; someone so human without a thought. Looking into her eyes he asked, “Why?”

She had a nostalgic smile on her as she spoke, “I've known him for much longer than you might think. Although he might not be aware of that. I used to be friends with his mother.”

“Have you noticed how the cubs get confused when he's near?” She smiled, “He smells like pack. Always did. Which is one of the reasons why I decided to look out for him from time to time after his mother's death.”

“And here I thought you are not familiar with him.” The other Alpha responded with a put-upon sigh.

“Well, I did so in secret. I'm not too sure how he would have taken the information if I were to tell him.” Her smile broadening. Derek snorted.

“But I didn't realise he smells like pack until you mentioned. I mean, I did notice he smells like home, like-” he then fumbled for words.

“I know.” He stole a glance at her, finally taking a sip from the glass, bracing for what's to come. “Do you think none of us would notice how you scent mark each other?”

Surprised, Derek snapped his head up at her with his eyes wide. “Turns out it is not even deliberate,” Talia concluded by the reaction. _“Both of you_ smell of each other all the time.”

It was difficult to conceal anything when you live with a house full of observant werewolves. Even more so if your mother was the pack Alpha. He sighed, putting the glass away.

“So what? He is just a kid in high school. I can't- not after- not after what happened… He's too young to be my-,” Derek stopped, then slung his feet over to the side, resting his elbows on top of his thighs and pressing the heel of his palms against his shut eyes. He still couldn't manage to accept the fact he had chosen a mate so young. He really hated being a werewolf sometimes.

“I am aware he's merely a teen and I won't tell you it's okay but I don't want you blaming yourself for things out of.” She explained, “You have to remember, human age terms don't entirely fit us werewolves. I understand it’s difficult to accept that as a wolf your primitive instincts think that boy has the perfect age for a mate. But don't beat yourself up over it. I want you to be happy, Derek.” She then placed a kiss on his forehead.

“What am I supposed to do?” He whined, distressed by the whole situation.

“Do what you _feel_ right. Trust yourself. I believe in _you_ to make the right decision at the correct moment.”

Then she slipped out of the room, leaving him with his own thoughts storming in his head.

•~✕~•

By the impression he had gotten off the boy, Derek had sort of expected Stiles to not obey what he was told and be where he should not be. Therefore, it was a surprise to him when Scott showed up the next day. He went forth, hoping this would not end up him tossing the teen across the wood.

“I need your help,” Scott declared once the Alpha appeared in front of him. Derek merely rose an eyebrow at that, waiting for the kid to elaborate.

When the Beta realised the older man won’t say anything, he began to further elaborate. “Uh, I was wondering if you could teach me how to control.” The boy told before rushing to add, “Just so we're clear, I'm not joining your pack. But, I need to learn control. I, I don't want Allison to get hurt because of me. Now, will yo-”

Derek cut him off to say anything more. “I will teach you.”

“You will? Even if I don’t join?” The Beta stared at him. “Look, if you try to blackmail into joining afterwards, I’m going talk to Mr Argent. They are a lot nicer and they’ll help me.”

“You think they are so nice.” The Alpha scoffed. Well, let me tell you how nice they are.”

The older man then pointed a thumb at the mansion in the background. “Doesn’t this look like a bit new to you given that my family have been living here for ages?”

“Well yeah looks like it had gone through some renovation or something,” Scott replied. “I think I remember hearing news years ago… something about a fire?”

“Exactly. An arson, to be precise, Do you know who was behind it?” Derek didn’t wait for an answer. “It was the Argents.”

The teen werewolf opposed, “How can you be so sure?

“Kate Argent was proven guilty. Now she’s spending her time in jail, paying for her crimes.”

“Maybe they had a reason!”

“Tell me, Scott, what reason there could possibly be.” The Alpha could feel his patience running thin. “They say they'll only kill an adult and only with absolute proof, but there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire. This is what they do. And it's what Allison will do. I already agreed to teach you. However, if you really want to learn how to control yourself, you need start by staying away from her.”

Scott got angry hearing so. “What? Why? She's innocent!” His tan arms waving about as he retorted.

“But she's an Argent,” Derek ground out. “They are not trustworthy! You never know what they are up to.”

“I don't think she even knows anything!” The tanner boy argued, “She hasn't tried to hurt me at all. If she knew she would have tried something, right?”

Derek stood silent. Memories of Kate flashing across his mind. “You are merely sixteen. You think you are in love but all it does is distract you off of what’s important.” When he spoke, it wasn’t about Scott and that Argent girl anymore. All he could think of was his own sixteen year old self and how being near The Amazing Argent GirlTM basically destroyed him.

“Think about it, Scott. I’m telling this for your own safety,” The Alpha turned and headed back to the house. Breathing in relief that he managed to not rip apart the annoying teen with his teeth.

•~✕~•

On Friday night, Scott and Stiles were having a “bro night”.

“Dude, I might have forgotten I asked you to find the bullet for Derek and never took it. I’m so sorry, man.” That’s the first thing Stiles spoke after the two settled for their game.

The other boy’s reaction was unexpected. He froze and looked at his friend; guilty. “I’m sorry it totally slipped my mind.” Scott apologised then his face morphed in horror. “Wait, he’s still alive when I met him yesterday. How- Did he managed to get the bullet? I’m so sorry Stiles. I should not have forgotten-”

“Hey, hey. Scott, what are you talking about? I was the one trying to apologise here.”

The werewolf exclaimed in response. “No, I forgot to look for the bullet! I should not have! He could have died!”

“Scotty, calm down man.” Stiles gripped the tanner of the two with both hands until he stopped panicking. “Jeez, I managed to get the bullet and Derek is alive and fine… well, hopefully fine.” Once calm, the scrawny teen explained.

“I don’t know how you guys managed to find one yourself but I’m glad you did. I’m really sorry man. I got distracted.” His best friend was still grumbling but Stiles was glad the boy forgot.

Never in a million years would he want his best friend to end up in danger while finding the bullet for Derek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I have to reset my mind that Ch.10 is this small.
> 
> What are your thoughts on the chapter? Comment below!


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